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A Florida drunk driver who killed a mother and daughter in a 130-mph crash was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Jacob Manuel, 25, pleaded no contest to two counts of DUI-manslaughter and one count of DUI with serious bodily injury in connection with the deaths of Tallulah Montez Beaman Ellis and her daughter, Tammy R. Hughes, the State Attorney’s Office for the 14th Judicial Circuit said in a press release.
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Manuel could have faced life in prison if he had been convicted in the May 10, 2022, crash.
Authorities said Manuel arrived at a Panama City bar around 5 p.m. and left three hours later carrying an alcoholic beverage, according to an affidavit obtained by McClatchy News.
Prosecutors said he was driving his Dodge Charger at around 130 mph eastbound on John Pitts Road in Panama City when he crashed into the back of the family’s SUV, sending it into a utility pole. Ellis and Hughes were pronounced dead at the scene. Hughes’ then 9-year-old granddaughter was injured in the crash but survived.
Authorities said Manuel’s vehicle rolled, hit a fence and caught on fire, per the affidavit.
Manuel, who had a suspended license, was pulled out of the vehicle.
A blood test taken three hours after the crash showed that Manuel’s blood alcohol content was .099, per the affidavit, per McClatchy News. The legal limit is .08.
“This case is a real tragedy, as is the case with most DUI-Manslaughters,” said Chief Assistant State Attorney Mark Graham. “You have the Ellis and Hughes families that lost a mother and daughter – leaving behind great-grandchildren, grandchildren, children and more. And that’s forever.
“Then you have the defendant who is a relatively young man with no criminal record and he’s going to prison for 40 years from one bad night of making bad choices.”