State links drinking to hit-and-run death
Springs woman pleads not guilty to leaving scene
The woman accused of fleeing after fatally striking a man on Las Olas Boulevard last month had been drinking beer with friends for hours before the incident, state prosecutors said Thursday.
Regina Goodrich, 25, of Coral Springs, surrendered in Broward Circuit Court on Thursday afternoon. She pleaded not guilty to the lone felony count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident on July 1. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in state prison, more severe than the 15-year penalty for DUI manslaughter, prosecutors said.
Tourist Miguel Soler, 58, died when he was struck by an SUV after he stopped to pose for a photograph with the “Welcome to Fort Lauderdale Beach” sign on the 2600 block of East Las Olas Boulevard.
Goodrich, who was taken into custody briefly after the hearing, was scheduled to be released Thursday on $70,000 bond. She will have to wear a GPS monitor and is barred from driving, using alcohol or drugs.
She wiped tears from her eyes as she listened to the victim’s widow speak about how the tragedy has affected the family.
Vivian Soler told the judge she came to court to see the person whose “negligence and irresponsible behavior” had “killed my husband.”
“Regina destroyed my family, my 26-year marriage and left my son orphaned,” Vivian Soler said.
Prosecutor Ross Weiner told the judge that witnesses said Goodrich and her friends had been drinking beer at a bar on Fort Lauderdale beach on and off for five hours before the incident. At times, between 1 and 6 p.m., they took a break and walked across A1A to the beach, witnesses said.
Goodrich, who was supposed to be the