FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nisbany Garcias, 30, was ordered held without bond Thursday in connection with a crash on Alligator Alley in Broward County that left one person dead and 16 others injured.
Garcias faces 10 charges, including DUI manslaughter, after he was accused of side-swiping a van Tuesday that was filled with families returning from a baseball game in Fort Myers.
The transport van rolled over several times, killing Lauren Vanreese, 21, and injuring 16 others, five of them seriously.
All of the families were visiting from Minnesota on spring break, and many of those injured were young children.
When the issue of probable cause arose, the public defender made a desperate attempt to keep Garcias out of jail.
"There appear to be some problems with making an identification of Mr. Garcias as the driver of the vehicle," attorney Brian Reidy said.
The state countered that Garcias had a seat belt abrasion consistent with sitting in the driver's side of the vehicle.
"It states numerous passengers from vehicle two also had observed the driver of vehicle one crawling out of the vehicle shortly after the crash," prosecutor Ross Weiner said.
Garcias's blood-alcohol level was .182 percent at 8 p.m. -- 2 ½ hours after the crash -- which is more than twice the legal limit, authorities said.