The Office of the State Attorney of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit announced that Cassandra Diane Smith had been convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol and causing the death of a Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office Deputy. On the afternoon of December 15, 2023, the jury returned a verdict of guilty following a four-day trial in Charlotte County.

Smith was found guilty of DUI Manslaughter, Vehicular Homicide, and two counts of DUI – Damage Person/Property. According to court records, the crime occurred on November 22, 2022 around 8:44 PM. Charlotte County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Taylor was carrying out a traffic stop on Interstate 75 near mile marker 163 on the shoulder of the northbound lane.

Taylor was standing in front of his marked patrol car with the emergency lights on. The Honda Civic he stopped was parked on the shoulder on the grass near the patrol vehicle. Deputy Taylor and a Punta Gorda man were talking in between the vehicles.

Witnesses observed a Jeep Wrangler traveling across three lanes of traffic before rotating clockwise towards the roadside where the traffic stop was being conducted. Cassandra Diane Smith’s Jeep crashed into the patrol car causing both vehicles to rotate and hit Deputy Taylor and the Punta Gorda man. Taylor was fatally injured while the other driver was hurt.

Other motorists immediately stopped to help. A roadside witness informed law enforcement that Smith seemed carefree and impaired. A Florida Highway Patrol Trooper detected a strong odor of alcohol on the defendant and noticed she had an inability to speak clearly. Her blood alcohol level was .285 more than three times the legal limit of .08.

Law enforcement found four empty bottles of alcohol in Smith’s vehicle. Florida Highway Patrol also obtained video from a convenience store of Smith buying alcohol an hour before the crash. Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on February 1, 2024.

According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office booking sheet, 30-year-old Cassandra Diane Smith was an accountant with a bachelor’s degree and resided in Lakeville, Massachusetts.