Accused drunk driver wants a lighter sentence for crash that killed pregnant woman, unborn baby
TAMPA, Fla. - A man accused of being drunk when he caused a crash that claimed the life of his passenger and her unborn child wants a lighter sentence.
Vanessa Schmurr-Smith, 27, was eight months pregnant when she and her unborn baby were killed in a drunk driving crash two years ago and prosecutors say Mario Gonzalez is the man responsible for the crash.
Now Gonzalez is asking the court to cut him a break and give him a lighter sentence on his felony charges. His Hillsborough public defender, Gabrielle Biggs, argued to the court that Gonzalez is remorseful.
Vanessa Schmurr-Smith and her unborn baby died during the crash.
"Mr. Gonzalez is more than understanding the remorse that he has especially considering that the two victims in this case were people that meant something to him," explained Biggs.
Prosecutors say in the afternoon of June 18, 2021, Gonzalez was driving drunk and on drugs. He was in a silver GMC Sierra driving northbound on I-75 near State Road 60, when suddenly he lost control of his vehicle, overcorrected, and slammed into a Publix semi-truck that had come to a stop in traffic.
On June 18, 2021, Gonzalez was driving drunk and on drugs according to prosecutors.
They say Schmurr-Smith, was ejected and died from her injuries. Her baby didn’t survive either.
However, Gonzalez did make it out of the vehicle without injuries and appeared to doze off while sitting on a concrete barrier after the crash.
Later, documents showed that he failed a drug sobriety test and was charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter. In court, Biggs blamed the crash on a mechanical issue, bad brakes.
The crash killed a woman who was 8 months pregnant and her unborn baby.
"The car it’s not going to immediately stop. It’s not only going to take me pumping it one time, it’s going to take me pumping it multiple times in order to get it to stop," argued Biggs.
But prosecutor Christine Brown placed the blame squarely on Gonzalez.
Gonzalez appeared to be dozing off after the crash.
"He did not use those brakes until the last few seconds the last 24 feet," shared Brown.
The defense urged the judge for a 15-year sentence, but the state wanted a hefty term of 25 years behind bars. Instead, Tampa Judge Barbara Twine-Thomas focused on the victims.
"This is a very complex case, complex in the facts of how the deadly accident occurred taking a life of a mother and a child," explained Thomas.
She went on to rule there would be no lighter sentence for Gonzalez, which means he will take his chances with a jury trial next week.