Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Delray man takes deal for 9-year prison term
Trial for DUI manslaughter was set to begin
One of Jack Rosen’s daughters described the retired dentist and grandfather from West Boynton as “a rock” before “his life ended so irresponsibly and so tragically.”
Gail Secular looked across the courtroom at Beau Durling, the Delray Beach man who minutes before pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter in exchange for a nine-year prison sentence, plus six years of probation.
“Your behavior could have been stopped, and if it wasn’t for your irresponsibility, my father would still be here today,” the New York City woman said, standing with her sister, Cheryl Rosen of Santa Fe, N.M.
“He had many, many more years to come, and I hope down the road, maybe you will actually take into account your actions and really feel badly about what you took away from this world,” Secular told Durling.
At 85, Jack Rosen had survived a battle with cancer and lost a wife and daughter to the disease. He still exercised four times a week, traveled, dined out and played golf and tennis.
Then one afternoon, Rosen’s car was slammed from behind by an SUV driven by Durling, 46. Court records show his blood-alcohol level was tested at .234, or about three times the legal limit to drive, about two hours after the Feb. 8, 2015 crash.
“If it wasn’t my father it probably would have been somebody else,” Secular said.
“You caused a hole in my heart,” said Cheryl Rosen, tears welled in her eyes. “He was taken from us too soon.”
With a jury waiting in the next room for what was supposed to be the start of Durling’s trial, Judge Marni Bryson accepted the plea deal negotiated by defense attorney Richard Lubin and Assistant State Attorney Laura Laurie.
The prosecutor dropped a vehicular homicide count, while Durling also pleaded guilty to driving under the influence causing or contributing to injury to person or property, a misdemeanor. Durling, whose driver’s license has been permanently revoked, got credit for 510 days already spent behind bars. He had faced a possible 15-year prison sentence if convicted by the jury.
Durling, who did not give a statement in court Tuesday, decided not to take the “high risk” of being found guilty, said his attorney.
“Both sides got a reasonable resolution,” Lubin said. “He does feel terrible remorse for this.”
Investigators previously accused Durling of causing a “catastrophic crash.”
According to a police report, it happened at 1299 W. Atlantic Ave., just east of Interstate 95, at about 2:30 p.m. A woman driving a Hyundai spotted an acquaintance and stopped to pick up the other woman.
Just then, a BMW and a Kia sedan behind the Hyundai managed to stop.
But Durling, behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Suburban equipped with a front trailer hitch and oversized tires, did not, the report said.
The vehicle slammed into the Kia, driven by Rosen, at about 52 mph in the 35-mph zone, according to the report. Durling’s attorneys later disputed that speed calculation.
A witness later told police that it didn't look like Durling hit his brakes at all. It was confirmed that he didn’t when investigators checked the Suburban’s “black box,” the police report said.
Rosen died from traumatic injuries at a hospital the next day.
Durling’s blood sample showed the presence of the drug Clonazepam, and Cocaethylene, a chemical formed when alcohol and cocaine are mixed.