What if my DUI involved a crash in Florida?

An ordinary first DUI in Florida is a misdemeanor punished under section 316.193(2), Florida Statutes. When the same impaired driving "causes or contributes to causing" harm to someone else, subsection (3) of the same statute takes over, with higher degrees and fewer ways to resolve the case. A crash also changes the evidence, since blood draws, crash reports and medical records come into play. This page covers the misdemeanor crash case and the serious injury felony; deaths are covered separately. Mr. Mead's approach to the charge itself is on the main DUI defense page.

How does a DUI crash case move, step by step?

1. The crash investigation. Officers document the scene and look for signs of impairment. If anyone is taken to a hospital, the alcohol evidence often comes from blood rather than breath.
2. The test. A death or serious bodily injury lets the officer require a blood test, by reasonable force if necessary (s. 316.1933(1)(a)).
3. The arrest and first appearance. An arrested driver sees a judge within 24 hours (Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.130). In Palm Beach County that happens at the jail complex described in the Palm Beach County jail and first appearance on Gun Club Road. In Broward, it happens at the courthouse covered in the Broward Central Courthouse and Main Jail.
4. The license. A breath or blood result of 0.08 or higher, or a refusal, starts an administrative suspension with a 10-day deadline, explained in keeping your license within 10 days.
5. The charging decision. The State Attorney decides the level of the charge, which turns largely on the injuries, so medical records often decide whether the case is a misdemeanor or a felony.
6. Resolution or trial. Lesser pleas are restricted in crash cases, as explained below, so the facts about causation and injury carry extra weight.

How does a crash change the DUI charge?

"Serious bodily injury" has a fixed meaning: an injury that "creates a substantial risk of death, serious personal disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ" (s. 316.1933(1)(b)). Whether an injury meets that definition is often disputed, and it decides whether the case is a misdemeanor or a felony. FLHSMV's own summary treats the third-degree felony as "Any person who causes serious bodily injury while driving under the influence." The felony charge is covered in more depth on our felony DUI page. A fatal crash is covered on our page about DUI manslaughter in Florida.

Do the usual DUI penalties still apply after a crash?

Yes, on top of the crash-level penalty. Subsections (5) and (6) of section 316.193 apply to every DUI conviction "regardless of any penalty imposed pursuant to subsection (2), subsection (3), or subsection (4)." That means monthly reporting probation, the DUI program course and evaluation, community service on a first conviction, and impoundment or immobilization of a vehicle. A DUI conviction "does not bar any civil suit for damages" either (s. 316.193(7)), so the injured person's insurance claim or lawsuit runs separately from the criminal case.

Can a DUI with a crash be reduced?

The law makes it harder. Section 316.656(2)(b) says "No trial judge may accept a plea of guilty to a lesser offense from a person charged with a violation of s. 316.193(3)," the crash subsection, and section 316.656(1) already bars a withheld adjudication on any DUI. Locally, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's first-time DUI program, which can end in a reckless driving plea, lists "No cases involving accidents" among its eligibility criteria, so a crash case is outside it; the program is described on our page about the Palm Beach County first-time DUI program. None of this means a crash case cannot be defended: causation, the injury level, and the testing are all contested issues.

How long is the license revoked after a crash?

For a DUI conviction involving serious bodily injury, the court must revoke the license for a minimum of 3 years (s. 322.28(4)(a)), and if it is also a second or later DUI, the longer repeat-offender periods apply. A first DUI conviction without a death otherwise brings a revocation of 180 days to 1 year (s. 322.28(2)(a)1.). FLHSMV's summary lists a 3-year minimum for a "First offense with bodily injury," and says a person with a DUI serious bodily injury conviction "May immediately apply for hardship reinstatement hearing" and must complete DUI school or an advanced driver improvement course. FLHSMV notes that its summary is for reference only and points to the statutes, which use the words serious bodily injury.

What if I left the scene?

Leaving is a separate crime with its own penalties, charged in addition to the DUI. Under section 316.027(2), a driver involved in a crash with injury must stop and remain at the scene until giving the information and aid that section 316.062 requires.

A conviction for leaving a crash with injury or death also brings at least a 3-year revocation and, before reinstatement, a victim's impact panel or an approved driver improvement course (s. 316.027(2)(e)). A defendant may ask the court to go below the 4-year minimum in a death case, but not when the violation was committed while driving under the influence (s. 316.027(2)(g)). And for DUI manslaughter, failing to give information and render aid raises the charge to a first-degree felony (s. 316.193(3)(c)3.b.). Every level of the offense, including property-damage cases, is covered in what happens if you left the scene of an accident.

How is a felony crash case sentenced?

Under Florida's Criminal Punishment Code, a level 7 offense such as DUI with serious bodily injury scores 56 points as the primary offense, and the worksheet adds points for each injured victim, from 4 for a slight injury to 40 for a severe one (s. 921.0024(1)(a)). The total sets the lowest permissible sentence. How that calculation works, and what can move a sentence below it, is explained on our page about how a felony sentence is calculated in Florida.

What changes the answer?

• Causation. The statute requires that the driver, "by reason of such operation, causes or contributes to causing" the harm (s. 316.193(3)(c)). A crash that happened while a driver was impaired is not automatically caused by the impairment or the driving.
• The injury level. Damage or ordinary injury is a misdemeanor; serious bodily injury is a felony; a death is DUI manslaughter.
• Prior DUI convictions. A serious injury conviction that is also a repeat DUI carries the longer repeat revocation periods (s. 322.28(4)(a)); the repeat-offense rules are summarized in our Florida DUI penalties table.
• Leaving the scene. Leaving adds a separate charge and, in a death case, a 4-year minimum (s. 316.027(2)(c)).
• Who was hurt. For the leaving-the-scene offenses in section 316.027, the offense ranks one level higher for sentencing if the victim was a vulnerable road user, such as a pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist (s. 316.027(1)(b), (2)(f)).

A worked example

For example, a hypothetical driver rear-ends a car at a red light in Delray Beach. The other driver complains of neck pain and is checked at a hospital, and the first driver's breath test reads 0.11. If the medical records show a sprain and nothing more, the likely charge is the first-degree misdemeanor for causing damage or injury, along with the usual DUI probation, DUI program and impound terms, and a first-conviction revocation of 180 days to 1 year. If the records instead showed an injury that created a substantial risk of death, the same crash could be charged as a third-degree felony with a 3-year minimum revocation. Either way, the program offered to some first-time DUI defendants in Palm Beach County would be off the table because of the crash. The example is hypothetical and does not predict any real outcome.

Common mistakes people make

• Apologizing or admitting fault at the scene or to insurers before speaking with a lawyer.
• Assuming a minor injury means a minor case, without seeing the medical records the State will rely on.
• Leaving the scene in panic, which creates a separate and often more serious charge.
• Forgetting the 10-day license deadline while dealing with the car, the injuries and the insurance claim.
• Not preserving evidence such as dash camera video, photos of the scene and witness names.

What to do this week

1. Write down everything about the crash: time, place, lighting, road conditions, speeds, and what each driver did.
2. Save photos, video and the names of witnesses and responding officers.
3. Get the crash report number and your tow and hospital paperwork.
4. Deal with the license deadline within 10 days of the notice of suspension.
5. Speak with a lawyer before giving any recorded statement to an insurer.

Frequently asked questions

Is a DUI crash with property damage only a felony?

No. Causing damage to another person's property while driving under the influence is a first-degree misdemeanor under section 316.193(3)(c)1. It becomes a felony when there is serious bodily injury or a death.

Can I be charged if the other driver caused the crash?

The crash-level charges require that the impaired driving caused or contributed to causing the harm. If it did not, the case may still be an ordinary DUI under section 316.193(1), which does not depend on a crash at all.

Does the injured person decide whether I am charged?

No. The State Attorney decides what to file. The injured person can bring a civil suit, which a DUI conviction does not bar (s. 316.193(7)).

Will I get bond after a DUI crash with injuries?

Bond is decided under the general rules for pretrial release, which weigh the nature of the charge and other factors. They are explained on our page about how bond is set in Florida.

Can my license be suspended before the case is over?

Yes. A breath or blood result of 0.08 or higher, or a refusal, triggers an administrative suspension that runs separately from the criminal case (s. 322.2615). A later revocation follows any conviction.

Is the impound still ordered in a crash case?

Yes. Impoundment or immobilization applies to every DUI conviction regardless of the crash penalty (s. 316.193(6)). How that works is explained on our page about what happens to your car after a DUI.

How can Mr. Mead help?

After a crash, the first questions are what actually caused it, how badly anyone was hurt, and how the State got its alcohol evidence, often from a hospital blood draw explained in can police take your blood after a DUI crash. Mr. Mead works through those questions with you from the start. Every case is different, and no outcome can be promised. For a confidential conversation, call (561) 362-6677, 24 hours a day.

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