Judge hears arguments on admission of evidence in deadly DUI case in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa General Hospital nurse Eden McGann says when Omar Wilson showed up to the hospital in March of 2019, the patient was in bad shape.

"He was very wobbly, couldn't stand on his own and I was worried that he would fall," said McGann. 

The results of a blood-alcohol test showed severe intoxication. Investigators say inside Omar Wilson's car was an empty bottle of liqueur underneath a black hat. 

MORE: Lawyers say evidence in DUI manslaughter case was improperly handled

They say moments earlier he had run a red light on North Nebraska Avenue, at Bird Street, and crashed into a van with several people inside. 

A 16-year-old boy was killed.  

Wilson watched during a Zoom hearing as his attorney asked a judge to throw out some of the most damning evidence against him including what they found in his car, claiming his vehicle may have been tampered with or contaminated at the crime scene.

Tampa Police Department officer Doug Burlett was one of the first to arrive at the crash scene and when asked if he ever got permission to search Wilson's vehicle, Burlett said he didn't.

"I never had a conversation with Mr. Wilson so the answer would be no," Burlett testified.  

Prosecutors say when officers approached Wilson after the crash, he was rocking back and forth and his speech was slurred.  

Wilson refused to take a breathalyzer at the jail and the defense argued Wilson never gave consent for the blood alcohol test at the hospital. Yet prosecutors argue hospital staff made that call based on his medical condition. 

When nurse McGann was asked if law enforcement ever asked her to administer the blood test, she said they did not.

"I don't take orders from law enforcement," replied McGann. 

The judge is expected to rule on the evidence by the end of the month.