Miami woman guilty in Interstate 95 death of two motorcyclists in Vero Beach
October 15th, 2009 by TCPalm.comVERO BEACH — A 26-year-old woman who was speeding and weaving out of traffic on Interstate 95 is guilty of vehicular homicide of two motorcyclists she hit along the roadway.
A jury deliberated for a hour Wednesday afternoon before finding Dominique Brice, of Miami, guilty of killing the motorcyclists parked along the northbound lanes on Feb. 29, 2008, near the juncture of Indian River and St. Lucie counties.
Sentencing is Nov. 25. She could face up to 30 years in jail.
Killed in the mid-day accident were off-duty North Miami police officer Fritz Doucet, 37, and West Palm Beach computer technician Raul Ortiz. They were recently reunited high school buddies going to Bike Week in Daytona Beach, said Ortiz’s sister, Carmen Sanchez, of New Jersey.
“How can you call yourself a human being?” Sanchez told Brice shortly after the verdict was announced in the courtroom.
Circuit Judge Robert Pegg allowed Sanchez to testify because she is from New Jersey and can’t come back for the sentencing.
Sanchez finally broke into sobs as Brice looked at the ceiling or at her relatives in the audience. Finally Brice was led out of the courtroom to be held in the Indian River County Jail.
Brice’s mother, Angie Dixon, left the courtroom before the verdict because Pegg said he wouldn’t tolerate outbursts.
Brice’s brother also declined comment. He was riding with her at the time of accident. Also in the car were her two young children who Dixon is now caring for.
“You still have your children and brother,” said Sanchez, who described Dixon as being unremorseful.
Doucet is survived by two sons, Fritz, 9, and Manny. 5, and his girlfriend Abigail Mena, of Broward County.
Manny has only been told “his father is in heaven,” said Doucet’s sister Diana Doucet. “He asked if he could go too. When he asked why he (his father) had to go to heaven, I told him God needed him.”
Assistant State Attorney Brian Workman told jurors Brice was speeding at more than 80 mph, quickly changing lanes and cutting off cars like in a NASCAR race.
According to a witness, Ortiz and Doucet appeared to have been studying a map and only looked up at the last moment as Brice’s Saturn slammed into them.
The two men’s bodies were knocked into bushes off the highway and their motorcycles were broken into pieces, reports show. Autopsies by the Medical Examiner’s Office found that both men’s spines were snapped in half and they had severe internal injuries.
Brice contends another car forced her vehicle out of control. Her attorney, Assistant Public Defender Adrienne Bucci, said her client was just changing lanes.
Former Indian River State College student Jessica More was on the highway and called 911 to report a reckless driver.
While on the phone, she said, “Oh my God,” as Brice’s car swerved and slammed the motorcyclists.
More testified in the trial as did an out-of-state couple who witnessed the accident.
“I satisfied with the verdict,” said Doucet’s brother, Daniel Doucet, of New York. “It is only fair.”
By Elliott Jones, TCPalm.com
Tags: brother, children, death, Interstate 95, Miami, motorcyclists, new jersey, police officer, saturn, sister, trial, verdict, west palm beach, wreck
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October 15th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I hope she is sentenced to Life in Prison, that would be the only appropriate sentence to have been driving like that and two kill to young men with so much in their lives to live for. Some people just don’t care. They don’t care about their actions and the consequences. It’s so sad for the children who lost their father so young. It’s heartbreaking and I doubt if this girl even cares. Selfish, stupid so now she can pay for her acts and driving like a maniac. She needs to spend life in prison.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
These kind of vehicular horrors seldom get the prison sentences they deserve.
October 15th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Speaking as a motorcyclist who rides regularly in South Florida, this in my opinion is a just verdict. I witness reckless activity every day that puts lives at risk - speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, talking on phones and texting while driving, pulling out without looking for traffic, and much much more. If I shoot a gun recklessly into a crowd and kill someone, then I deserve to go to jail - for a long time. If you are reckless with your vehicle and kill someone, you should go to jail - for a long time. The consequences of hitting a pedestrian, a bicyclist or a motorcyclist are often greater than hitting another vehicle. Let the punishment fit the crime.
October 15th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
I drive a truck, a car and a motorcycle. We’re all guilty of something out there. We all believe we’re the safest drivers on the road. The truth is, you don’t know when it will be your turn to pay the piper.
I wish people would just slow down and be considerate of others.
A word of caution: don’t stop on the shoulder or median unless of an emergency. It is a habit I picked up when I first received my license some 41 years ago.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Justice must be served and this worthless POS who calls herself a mother driving so as to endanger her own children recklessly killing two people off the side of the road is inexcusable and reckless driving at its worse. There is no mention of alcohol or drugs but clearly something is wrong with this outrageous stupid woman whose actions cost the lives of two productive citizens in society. No rational person woud be driving so recklessly for miles having been reported to state troopers by other motorists deserves any sympathy. This cretin needs to do a lengthy prison sentence and taken off the road for the safety of the rest of us. I am a former state trooper myself and I have no patience whatsoever for people who drive like maniacs with total disregard for others using the highway. This case cries out for the maximum sentence because Dominique Brice’s actions are so wilfully negligent. Protect society and her two small children, LOCK HER UP AND THROW THE KEY AWAY.