A Miami-Dade judge on Tuesday sentenced 43-year-old Leonardo Remedios to six years in state prison after he pleaded guilty to the drunk-driving crash that killed 36-year-old Suleyca Rodriguez, a mother of two. The judge also ordered one year of community control and five years of probation to follow his prison term, a punishment family members said delivered some accountability for a sudden, preventable loss.
Crash details
The collision happened just before midnight on Dec. 7, 2023, at the intersection of Southwest 24th Street (Coral Way) and the Palmetto Expressway when Remedios’ Volkswagen Tiguan ran a red light and hit a Nissan Altima that was turning left from the expressway, killing the Altima’s driver at the scene, according to Local 10. Police records reviewed by the outlet say the impact spun the victim’s car onto the median and into oncoming traffic, where it collided with a third vehicle.
Plea, sentence and evidence
Prosecutors say Remedios’ blood-alcohol level was 0.273 after a blood draw at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, and in-vehicle data showed he was driving about 81 mph in a 40 mph zone. Those details were part of the evidence in the case that ended with his guilty plea. He pleaded guilty this week and was sentenced by Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson to six years in prison, followed by one year of community control and five years of probation, as reported by the Miami Herald.
Family reaction
At sentencing, relatives delivered emotional statements about the hole Rodriguez leaves behind and the future her daughters now face. "My life has been destroyed since she was killed," Mack Mercado told the court, and family testimony described how Rodriguez’s two daughters will grow up without their mother, according to the Miami Herald.
What the law says
Under Florida law, DUI manslaughter is a second-degree felony that carries a mandatory minimum prison term of four years and a maximum of up to 15 years, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Remedios’ six-year term sits above the state minimum; the judge added community control and probation to follow his prison term, in line with the sentence details reported in court filings.
