Fatal Hit and Run Takes A Civil Turn With Suit

The family of one of two British businessmen killed in a Fort Lauderdale hit-and-run crash filed a lawsuit Monday against the owner of the car involved in that accident and a friend of the car's owner.

A Porsche 911 Turbo owned by Ryan LeVin, 34, struck Craig Elford, 39, and Kenneth Watkinson, 48, on Feb. 13 as they walked along State Road A1A to their hotel on Fort Lauderdale beach.Police are investigating to see who was behind the wheel at the time of the accident. Though the lawsuit filed by Elford's family does not mention who was driving the Porsche, it accuses LeVin and his friend Derek Cook, 37, who police say drove the sports car at some point that night, of reckless driving.

Complete coverage: Deadly hit-and-run kills two Britons

"These men represent the ultimate not just in negligence but in cowardice for fleeing the scene," said Seth Miles, one of the attorneys representing Elford's family. "His family is demolished. They just want to see them take some responsibility."

Among the accusations in the lawsuit are two charges the Fort Lauderdale Police Department have not verified: that both men were driving drunk and that one of them was involved in a drag race moments before the crash. Those details were gathered from witnesses, Miles said.The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from both men.

"I'm not surprised they filed the lawsuit. That's what people do when they lose relatives," said David Bogenschutz, one of LeVin's attorneys. "But filing a lawsuit and proving a lawsuit are two different things."

LeVin is behind bars in Illinois for violating the terms of his probation for a 2006 car chase in Chicago. The British tourists are very dead, and no one has yet been formally arrested or charge, though law enforcement seems to know what happened and how and by whom. This investigation has had some tv like turns and quirks that are manifesting into a difficult prosecution. Sad for the victims. Sad for the people of the State of Florida.

From a defense perspective however, we must always remember it is the State's duty to insure that their case is proven beyond a reasonable doubt and the burden to prove what might have happened did indeed occur. Initially, everyone thought the driver was someone other than who it turned out to be. If lynch mobs were still tolerated, the wrong guy would have already been hung.

'Killer Porsche' Owner on Probation for Hit/Run

Now let's talk about the killer Porsche. The cops have ID'd the owner, who now has to sweat what forensics is going to do. He apparently has not hired an attorney yet, but referred questions to Keith Seltzer, who has no comments yet. A Sentinel feature yesterday quotes Ken Padowitz and Milton Hirsch, each saying this is going to be one tough case to prove. Maybe so, but let's hope for the sake of our community, it is proven, the murderer is apprehended, and the killer convicted. In light of the fact that so much of this case could turn on forensics, that damning report in yesterday's blog is worth scrutinizing carefully.

This story is all over the papers in Great Britain, but they can't brag too much there either. The headline in the Daily Mail yesterday, an English paper, is about a lorry driver that was caught in a mass collision, rear ended a vehicle with a family of six, and killed them all. He got a year. One year. There is a single episode rule in England, and the driver cannot be cited for each fatality.

Now this morning, surprise of all surprises comes the revelation that the owner of the Porsche, who says he ‘was not driving’, just so happens, totally coincidentally of course, to be on 30 months felony probation for drag racing, fleeing, and assorted, sundry felonies. As a matter of fact, he is allowed to be in Florida to supervise his parents' beach front properties, just down the block from where the murders occurred.

Here is the new report:

"Cook County, Ill., court records show that LeVin was sentenced to 30 months' probation in November 2007 after leading Chicago police on a high-speed chase in a blue Porsche, a 2001 Targa. Police estimated he reached 100 mph during the July 31, 2006, chase, and he struck several vehicles and injured a police officer and two motorists, according to police reports.

After the Chicago chase, police found cocaine in LeVin's car, according to court records. He initially was charged with seven felonies and ultimately pleaded guilty to one — aggravated fleeing."

Here is the full link:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/fort_lauderdale/sfl-flbhitandrun0219sbfeb19,0,5416748.story

His next address: the Broward County Jail. Here truly though, is the reason defense attorneys exist. So much of the circumstantial evidence points so transparently to this guy LeVin that he absolutely positively unquestionably needs a lawyer to insure that the State of Florida does not jump on the bandwagon of the obvious, but is instead held to the demanding standards of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hit and Run Killer Still Free

No arrests have been made yet in a hit-and-run that killed two British tourists on the Fort Lauderdale beach last Friday morning. A white Porsche believed to be involved in the incident was found abandoned near Interstate 595 later that morning.

Witnesses described seeing the cars hurtle along at 100mph. Detectives know the name of the person to whom the Porsche is registered, but they have not said who they think was behind the wheel. The search continues for the second car. Will there be a witness? Will DNA prove something? Will there be pictures of the driver's vehicle crossing the E Clay Shaw Bridge moments after the accident, identifying the driver? Are there cameras at that location, so close to the port and large tourist ships? Maybe Homeland Security has something?

The victims were identified as Craig Elford, 39, a father of 3-year-old and 1-year-old girls, and his business partner, 48-year-old Kenneth Watkinson. They were in town recruiting for their budding medical supply company. Police believe the Porshce lost control and swerved to the pavement, hitting the men from behind. Their sudden death has generated international outrage, with newspapers in the United Kingdom running photographs of the smashed Porsche.

Too many times over too many years have we borne witness to these senseless tragedies here on our beaches next to our homes. One second you are on your bicycle or running with your dogs, and the next you are subject to the reckless abandon of mindless morons who do not ever grasp how deadly their vehicles can be. It is easy to relate to the outrage.

The owner of the vehicle has been found. Now the question is will he come forth and say who had dominion, custody and control of his vehicle at the time of the accident. Maybe some kid took it for a joy ride. Whatever, he should be seeking counsel. He has that right, as well he should. After all, the State will be seeking jail. As well they should.

http://browardlawblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/death-on-seabreeze-boulevard.html

Sadly it goes on, in every city, everyday...
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/02/01/2009-02-01_drunken_joy_ride_in_queens_in_stolen_car.html

Drag Racing Brings Death to Seabreeze Boulevard

Death on the Curve
by Norm Kent

This is an image of a stunning vehicle, a late model Porsche. This morning it is an image of death.

Someone driving a vehicle such as this was in a drag race on Seabreeze Boulevard this morning, just off Las Olas and A1A. Now, on a quiet and calm Friday morning in Fort Lauderdale, two bodies lie in the morgue. The driver of the crashed Porsche is missing, having fled the death scene he created.

The victims, two young men, police say in their 30's, were found dead on the side of the road. Guys that work out at the Zoo Gym on the beach found them. They have not been identified. It is too soon. Perhaps tourists, they are nevertheless two lives tragically snuffed out by the reckless, and now criminal, abandon of others.

About 2:30 a.m., the police found the abandoned white Porsche with 'damage on the front left side.' No one cares about the car. It was lives they left behind. The vehicle was found on the side of northbound Interstate 95 near the eastbound 595 ramp.

For now, the killer has escaped. Perhaps he is lying by the side of the road, shaking off a night of alcohol. Perhaps he telephoned a friend to come get him. But he will be found. He will be apprehended. He will be prosecuted. He will be defended. He will have his day in court. He will also probably spend most of the rest of his life in jail.

Unsuccessfully, police used dogs to try to find the Porsche's runaway driver, but detectives believe the driver may not have fled on foot. Nevertheless, the vehicle will give him away. The DNA will track him down. The forensics will convict him. His life as he knew it is over.

The killer was drag racing in an area we who live in Fort Lauderdale know as 'Dead Man's Curve.' It is wider and safer than it was thirty years ago, but drivers still drag race, drink and act recklessly. On the morning of February 13, 2009 history will record that the curve took two more lives, as yet unidentified.

The serenity of a peaceful beach morning has been stolen. Lives have been shattered. Thirty yards away, there are kids on the beach playing in the sand, not ever knowing the toll some reckless driver in his Porsche exacted only hours before.

Related Story: Leyritz Back to Jail on Bond Revocation for DUI Manslaughter

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-bn-0213jim-leyritz,0,6612627.story