Man suspected of DUI in crash served time for manslaughter
JUPITER — A Lake Park man is accused of driving while intoxicated and causing a crash Sunday night that seriously injured a motorcyclist in Jupiter, according to an arrest report.
Nicholas Christian Armstrong, 29, is facing charges of DUI with serious bodily injury, refusing to submit to a DUI test after a license suspension and violating driver-license restrictions. He was being held in the Palm Beach County Jail early Thursday in lieu of $10,000 bail.
Records show that Armstrong pleaded guilty to manslaughter in September 2007 after he fatally stabbed a 21-year-old man at a Jupiter house party in 2006.
Armstrong was sentenced to seven years and was released from prison in September 2012.
Armstrong is behind bars again after he allegedly drove his Mazda through a flashing red light near a parking lot at Burt Reynolds Park on U.S. 1 in Jupiter, causing a Nissan to swerve left to avoid a crash at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
The evasive move resulted in a motorcycle driven by Gregory A. Yates striking the Nissan.
Yates, 57, was thrown from the motorcycle and taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where he was listed Wednesday in fair condition, according to a hospital spokesman.
Yates sustained a broken jaw, a fractured shoulder and multiple lacerations, according to the arrest report.
A Jupiter police officer said Armstrong had bloodshot, glassy eyes and a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath.
Armstrong refused to answer questions, except to say he had nothing to drink, and asked to speak to an attorney.
He also refused a DUI breath test but was later forced to undergo a blood test because the crash involved serious injuries.
Results of the blood test were not available Wednesday.
The arrest report states Armstrong’s driving history included a prior suspension for refusal to submit to a DUI test and that his driver’s license restricted him to driving only to and from work.
On Aug. 4, 2006, Armstrong was charged with second-degree murder following the stabbing death of John Collins, 21, during a party in the 100 block of Hampton Circle in Jupiter, near Indian Creek Parkway and Maplewood Drive.
Collins and Armstrong got into an altercation at the party. Collins swung at Armstrong with a tree branch and Armstrong responded by stabbing the man in the chest with a knife.
The state agreed to allow Armstrong, who was 19 and lived in Palm Beach Gardens at that time, to plead guilty to manslaughter because of conflicting testimony from witnesses.
The manslaughter charge could have resulted in a sentence of 15 years in prison.