Lawilla Werner:  

CLASS OF 1975
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King High SchoolClass of 1975
Tampa, FL

Lawilla's Story

Lawilla is from Tampa, Florida. Lawilla's schools include King High School. Music Lawilla likes includes Southern Folks ONLY, Luke Bryan, Bee Gees. Books Lawilla likes include The Bible. Movies Lawilla likes include Arthur Christmas, Dirty Dancing. TV shows Lawilla likes include Fox News Channel, The Five, The Five on Fox (Fans). One of Lawilla's favorite quotes is:"Please Don't Drink & Drive ... This is why I say this .. BROOKSVILLE -- The man charged with DUI-manslaughter in the traffic deaths of teenagers Danielle Werner and Chelsea Druzbick had a blood alcohol level of 0.176 right after the accident, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report, more than twice the 0.08 level at which someone is presumed to be impaired. A Florida Highway Patrol investigation concluded that Robert Alan Stires was impaired and that the Feb. 19 accident occurred because he ran a red light. Yet, in the chaotic moments after the accident, two people who came to the scene from a nearby bar said Stires immediately blamed the crash on the driver of the other car, Danielle Werner. That "dumb b---- ran the red light," he said, according to statements given by Ronald James Greene and Jennifer Fitts. Still, Stires told authorities he had "three or four beers" at the Connection, a Brooksville bar, hours before the accident. He was also seen by a friend at Miss Kitty's Hilltop Lounge in Brooksville, though that friend did not see Stires take a drink there. Stires, 31, of 19380 Oakdale Ave. in Brooksville, has been charged with two counts of DUI-manslaughter in the deaths of Werner and Druzbick. He faces a third charge, DUI with serious bodily injury, for the injuries suffered by Jennifer Smith, who survived the wreck. If convicted on all charges, Stires could face up to life in prison, prosecutors said. Arrested Monday, Stires was freed Tuesday on $10,000 bail. Originally, the bail was listed at $130,000. But County Judge Peyton Hyslop lowered it at Stires' first appearance hearing. That decision, and Stires' release from jail, left the teens' families outraged. "What the hell is the state of Florida waiting for him to do, kill a couple more families?" said Werner's father, Stanton Werner. "My daughter is in the grave. He's in jail one night. This is justice?" The families' outrage was stoked at the hearing when they learned that Stires has a long list of previous traffic offenses. That includes two crashes and one previous DUI. In all, records show 14 traffic violations since 1989. "I'm at a loss for words except for the fact that I am disappointed that he was put out on $1,000," said Barbara Harvey, Chelsea Druzbick's mother. She was referring to the 10 percent that is normally put up to free someone whose bail is set at $10,000. Stires could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Calls to his home were not returned, and the man and woman who posted his bail declined to comment. In its investigation, the patrol looked into Stires' claim that Werner ran the red light early that morning at U.S. 98 and State Road 50. Investigators also considered that people at the scene heard Smith, a front-seat passenger in the teens' car, say, "We fell asleep; I knew I should have stayed awake to keep them awake." But after looking at the crash marks on the road and a statement from a driver who witnessed the accident, the patrol concluded that Werner, not Stires, had the green light. As Werner's car turned left, Stires' Jeep came through the intersection and, with brakes screeching, slammed into the car, the report concluded. As for Smith's remarks about falling asleep, Assistant State Attorney Bill Catto said Smith was asleep at the time of the wreck and could not have known if the other girls were awake. Earlier that night, the girls had discussed the need to stay awake to help Werner remain alert, according to the FHP report. The accident occurred at 12:40 a.m., as the girls were coming from a Korn concert they attended in Lakeland. Investigators found that Werner, the 19-year-old Hernando High senior, had a clean driving record. Smith, one of her passengers that night, referred to her as "overly cautious." At her parents' insistence, she had practiced a dry run over the route with her mother the day before the concert. And just 35 minutes before she died, Werner had called her parents from a roadside store and said she was on her way home. Druzbick, a 16-year-old Central High student whose father, John, is a School Board member, suffered head injuries. She died five days after the accident at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Smith, whom the investigation found to be the only person in the accident wearing a seat belt, suffered a bruised right knee, a broken collarbone and some lower back pain. Though he was not wearing a seat belt, Stires suffered only a cut to his face and an injury to his right leg, according to the accident report. He also smelled of alcohol, according to FHP trooper Ricky J. Peters, who investigated at the scene. A roofer by trade, Stires said he went to a bar called the Connection on the evening of the accident. He had three or four beers after work, according to statements attributed to him by investigators. Then he went home, did some laundry and took a shower before leaving for his girlfriend's house. On his way, Stires said he stopped at a Hess station and had two hot dogs and a bag of potato chips. About 2 1/2 hours before the accident, Stires was seen at the Hilltop by friend Jerry Wayne Par...Expand for more
ker, Jr. But Stires did not appear to be drunk, Parker said. And during their brief conversation, Parker told investigators, Stires was not drinking. At Tuesday's court hearing, Catto said he wanted Hyslop to set a high bail because he feared that Stires might try to drive again. Instead, Hyslop set bail at $10,000. Stires was free by mid-afternoon. Hyslop did place two additional conditions on the bail: that Stires does no driving and that he not drink alcohol to excess. That Stires has been driving at all, with his litany of past offenses, has members of the teens' families disgusted and dumbfounded. Catto said Stires' record of driving offenses is long, but he has seen people driving with longer records. At the time of the crash, Stires had a valid driver's license, Catto said. That could simply be attributed to the fact that the offenses were spread out over several years and points that accumulate on a driver's record are removed over time. That's no comfort to Stanton Werner, who can't help but think of his daughter, Danielle, and her friend Chelsea. "They're in the ground because of some low life who was given another chance to kill somebody," Werner said. "It's like a slap in the face. This is what justice gets." Driver is found guilty in DUI trial Jurors say Robert Stires was at fault in the crash that killed two teenagers and seriously injured a third. By JOY DAVIS-PLATT © St. Petersburg Times, published August 24, 2001 BROOKSVILLE -- It took about an hour for a jury to convict Robert Stires on two counts of DUI manslaughter and one count of DUI personal injury in a Hernando County courtroom on Thursday. A jury of five women and one man ruled that Stires was responsible in the February 2000 accident that killed Danielle Werner, 19, and Chelsea Druzbick, 16. A third victim, then-16-year-old Jennifer Smith, survived the crash. Stires' defense team rested early Thursday without presenting evidence or testimony on his behalf. The defense did ask Judge Richard Tombrink to throw out a charge of DUI that caused serious bodily injury to Smith, arguing that her broken collarbone and injured knee did not meet the standard for the charge. Tombrink lowered the charge to DUI personal injury. In his closing argument, assistant public defender John Hendrick told the jury that prosecutors had given them a large batch of cookies, but had left out the chocolate chips. The missing chips, he said, were proof that Stires had caused the accident. Stires' lawyers have argued he had a green light and therefore was not at fault for the fatal wreck. But prosecutors say the vehicle damage and crash scene evidence prove Stires, whose blood alcohol was more than double the legal limit after the accident, ran a red light heading east on State Road 50, just as the teens were turning west on SR 50 from McKethan Road. The girls were returning from a Korn concert in Lakeland. The crash killed Werner instantly. Druzbick, a student at Central High and daughter of School Board member John Druzbick, died five days later at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Smith was the only person in the car wearing a seat belt. She sat with her family in the courtroom on Thursday. In testimony Wednesday, Ron Greene said that he heard Stires say at the scene, "The dumb b---- ran the red light" after being pulled from the wreck through the driver's window of his Jeep. Assistant State Attorney Bill Catto countered that evidence showed Stires was at fault for the accident. "We're not here to bake cookies," he said. "We're here to find justice." During closing arguments, Druzbick's mother, Barbara Harvey, sat quietly, hand over her mouth, eyes wet with tears. As the jury deliberated, she smiled -- even laughed -- telling stories of her daughter's childhood dance recitals, dry wit and flare for 1960s style. "I hope to remember her and smile," she said, holding a photograph of her daughter taken shortly before she was killed. "But this (trial) is something that has to be done first." Danielle's father, Stanton Werner, said he plans to speak at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Sept. 11. At that time, Judge Tombrink could sentence Stires, 32, to anywhere from 23 years to life in prison. "I want him to know what that man has taken away from us," Werner said. "She loved the world. There was nobody she didn't like. But she's gone and I know this isn't going to bring her back but i hope this judge does the right thing." Danielle was enrolled in a West Palm Beach cooking school and intended to become a professional chef. For now, Werner plans to take what is left of his family on a weeklong vacation on the east coast of Florida. "I've got to try to put my family back together now," he said. "I've got to find a way to undo this." Roger Smith, father of the only survivor in the girls' car, said he will be happy for the healing process to begin. "We're the lucky ones," he said. "When we leave today, we're taking our daughter with us." Stires was taken into custody until sentencing. DRUNK DRIVER SENTENCED: Robert Stires, who drove drunk when he slammed into a car carrying three girls (killing two of them and injuring another), was sentenced to 30 years in state prison by Circuit Judge Richard Tombrink. The accident in 2000 claimed the lives of Chelsea Druzbick, 16, (daughter of School Board member John Druzbick) and Danielle Werner, 19; it left Jennifer Smith, 18, injured.".
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