State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden announced that on April 13, 2021, in Santa Rosa County, Circuit Court Judge John Simon sentenced Lakeisha Yvonne Waiters to serve 12 years in prison followed by 3 years of probation for DUI Manslaughter.
On September 18, 2020, while operating a Ford F-150 pickup truck southbound on State Road 87, Lakeisha Waiters crossed the raised grassy median and caused a head-on collision with another motorist driving a Buick sedan.
The driver of the Buick passed away as a result of the crash.
Waiters was ejected from her vehicle and sustained incapacitating injuries.
A witness traveling behind the truck prior to the crash described the truck as driving erratically to the point that he called 911 before the crash occurred.
A blood sample collected in the investigation revealed Waiters’ blood to contain 0.13 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood.
Waiters previously pled no contest as charged, straight up to the judge. The sentence includes a 4-year mandatory minimum prison sentence and a lifetime driver’s license revocation.
The case was investigated by Corporal Jacob Leitch of the Traffic Homicide Unit with the Florida Highway Patrol. The case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Matt Gordon. He can be reached at (850) 595-4229.
