PLANTATION, Fla. – A 33-year-old Plantation man was charged with DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash during a court appearance on Monday.
Investigators said Brandon James Herkert was responsible for the death of the woman who he lived with when she jumped onto his truck during an argument and he hit the gas last September. He was also charged with leaving the scene of a crash that resulted in a death since he did not stop to render aid, prosecutors said.
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Herkert and the victim knew each other for 15 years and had a one-year-old child together, according to Plantation police.
On Sept. 7, the two reportedly attended a pool party near the home they shared, where police said they had “consumed numerous alcoholic beverages.”
Investigators said that when they returned home, the couple got into an argument. At around 10:23 p.m., Herkert left the house and got into his white Ford F250 four-door pickup truck that was backed into the driveway. The front of the truck was facing into the roadway, investigators said.
According to the police report, as Herkert was closing the truck door, the victim came out of the house and climbed onto the truck near the left rear, driver’s side door. That’s when police said Herkert put the car into drive and pulled out of the driveway. The events outside of the house were corroborated by video surveillance recordings as well as data obtained from the truck by investigators.
The police report said then Herkert rapidly accelerated the truck about 73 feet south of the driveway entrance and the acceleration caused the victim to lose her footing and fall from the truck. She struck the roadway and was run over by the left rear tire of the vehicle, which was supported by injuries revealed in the autopsy report and other evidence gathered by Plantation police.
Police said Herkert continued without stopping and drove to a gas station on West Broward Boulevard, where he entered and made two purchases. From video surveillance, investigators said Herkert appeared “relaxed and showed no signs of distress or agitation” and that he had driven to the gas station and back to the residence in a “conservative manner.”
When he returned to the house, there was an active police scene as neighbors had found the victim in the road and called 911. Herkert reacted to the scene with shock, according to the report, and then went into the house.
When police spoke with Herkert, officers said he appeared intoxicated, was slurring his words and had trouble telling them basic information.
Three hours after the incident, he provided a blood test. The toxicology report showed that his blood alcohol level was 0.203, approximately two and a half times the legal limit of 0.08.
The victim died 18 days after the incident and passed away at Broward Medical Center.