A 46-year-old Lakeland man has been arrested and charged in a Thursday night crash in Plant City that killed a mother of two.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Brian Defreitas, of Lakeland, was driving a 2008 Dodge Avenger eastbound on State Road 60 near Cable Road in the inside lane when he attempted to pass a woman driving a 2001 Chevrolet pickup.
The front left of the Dodge Avenger collided with the rear right of the Chevrolet pickup, troopers said.
After colliding, the pickup traveled into the grass median and overturned several times. The woman driving the pickup, Maria Luisa Olivas, 45, was ejected from the vehicle.
Olivas, from Plant City, was taken to Tampa General Hospital were she died. Her two children, a 8-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl, were also in the car. They were airlifted to an area hospital and are in serious condition.
Defreitas, who works as a dance instructor in Brandon, was booked into jail overnight on charges of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. Before last night's crash, Defreitas had one prior DUI conviction in Polk County from January 2003, and one conviction of reckless driving with alcohol as a factor in 2005. Officials said Defreitas also had five instances of driving on a suspended license. In the state of Florida, you have to have three DUI convictions in a 10 year period before getting your license revoked.
Troopers said Defreitas refused alcohol testing after the crash.
He is scheduled to appear before a Hillsborough County judge Saturday morning.
At that time, the judge will determine if he will let Defreitas out on bond. He is currently being held without bond.