News

Vehicular Manslaughter Charge After a Fatal Crash


Posted on May 12, 2009

At 1 p.m. on December 2, 2008, a fatal crash occurred at the intersection of the University Avenue and NW 17th Street in Gainesville, FL. Monica Renee Toliver rear-ended a truck and veered off the road onto a sidewalk, hitting Michael VanWagner, a 22-year-old University of Florida student. VanWagner was riding a motorized scooter. He was not wearing a helmet and later died from severe head injuries that resulted from this crash.

VanWagner received a posthumous degree in history from the University of Florida this May.

The investigators attribute the fatal crash to Toliver's reckless driving and to her not stopping after hitting a truck. Her blood test results indicated that she was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Toliver was charged with vehicular manslaughter. Because she failed to render aid to VanWagner, her charge was increased to a second-degree felony.

For more information, please see:
http://www.nationalsafetycommission.com/....o-vehicular.php 
http://www.meldonlaw.com/blog/it-is-time-for-our-legistature-to-rethink-the-helmet-law-for-floirda.cfm
http://www.meldonlaw.com/library/vehicular-homicide-charge-in-florida-meaning.cfm

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I am local Accident Attorney, Jeffrey Meldon, and I strongly believe that public education is the first step in the prevention of and/or recovery from a serious accident. 

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