LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A 5-year-old boy who was critically hurt in a DUI crash died Sunday while in the hospital, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
The man who investigators believe was intoxicated behind the wheel prior to the crash — Daksh Wadhwa, 30 — now faces a charge of DUI manslaughter following the boy’s death.
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The crash happened Saturday on County Road 448 near Shirley Shores Road in Lake County at 8:30 a.m., according to troopers.
FHP said Wadhwa was behind the wheel of his BMW 740i when he veered into the eastbound lanes and slammed into a Honda Civic.
The driver of the Civic – a 29-year-old Mount Dora woman – was taken to ORMC with serious injuries, according to investigators, while the boy was flown to Arnold Palmer Hospital, where he later died.
Troopers said that Wadhwa remained on the scene and provided a breath sample that was 0.189. The legal limit in the state of Florida is 0.08.
He also faces charges of DUI with serious bodily injury and possession of cocaine.
Wadhwa turned himself into the Lake County Jail on Wednesday for the upgraded charge of DUI manslaughter, according to the FHP. He was booked into the jail on $30,000 bond and turned over his passport and the case has been submitted to the State Attorney’s Office for criminal proceedings, FHP said.
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