MIAMI — A judge granted prosecutors’ motion to keep a Coral Gables man locked up Monday as he faces DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges for a June southwest Miami-Dade crash that killed a senior sleeping in his home.
The crash happened just outside of Coral Gables in the 2900 block of Southwest 57th Avenue, in the unincorporated Coral Terrace area.
Investigators with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said real estate developer Allen Matis, 67, ran a stop sign on Palermo Avenue in his Cadillac Lyriq SUV and slammed into the home at around 11:30 p.m. on June 24.
Deputies said Henri Bezy, 82, was asleep inside and became trapped under the vehicle when Matis drove through the wall. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Authorities said surveillance video showed Matis had been drinking at the Ritz-Carlton in Coconut Grove prior to this crash.
According to an MDSO report, a deputy saw Matis behind the wheel after the crash and “observed signs of impairment.” It states that toxicology results taken from blood samples hours after the crash showed Matis’ blood alcohol content ranging from 0.245% to 0.29%, more than three times the legal limit.
Deputies arrested Matis on Wednesday.
In court Monday, the state called several witnesses, mostly MDSO deputies and detectives. The judge also heard from the victim’s 88-year-old sister, Clare Bezy. She was also inside of the home at the time of the crash and said her younger brother Henry helped care for her.
“He was my baby brother. He would have been 84 on Aug. 11,” she said. “I called out to Henry, and he didn’t answer. And I heard people in the living room; they were fire rescues. And I heard somebody say they found a leg and a foot.”
Mattis’ attorney raised questions about whether self-driving technology was being used inside of that Cadillac at the time of the crash. Several General Motors vehicle models are equipped with a technology called Super Cruise, but its functionality is mostly restricted to limited-access highways.
The attorney also emphasized that Matis did not try to flee over the summer as investigators looked into the circumstances and the blood alcohol tests were coming back.
The judge, however, said she placed a lot of weight on those tests and that ultimately led her to decide to keep the Illinois-born Matis locked up without bond until trial.
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