DJ Hugo M crashed his BMW in downtown Miami with alcohol and cocaine in his system. This lead to the killing of one of his passengers which was a former Miami Beach official. The same person who spent almost three years in jail for public corruption.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office concluded that it could not prove that Hugo Milochevitch, 27, was impaired at the time. O
Known as Hugo M, Milochevitch a DJ at Seaspice, a restaurant on the Miami River. He also spun at Miami Beach night spots Mynt Lounge and Bâoli Miami.
Prosecutors say Milochevitch was behind the wheel of the packed BMW that had just left a night of partying. Located at a restaurant and lounge on the Miami River on March 2017. Lopez just so happened to be in the car with him.
The BMW ran flashing red lights at the intersection of Northwest Third Avenue and Fifth Street. Ignoring the light caused the BMW to impact a pickup truck that had the right of way. The mangled pickup flipped and came to rest atop the BMW, trapping its five occupants.
Lopez died and four others were injured.
“We appreciate that the prosecutors thoughtfully considered all of the evidence and made the appropriate decision,” they said in a statement. “Hugo remains devastated by this unfortunate incident.”
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office explored charging Milochevitch with DUI manslaughter.
His blood alcohol level tested just three hours after the crash. Tests showed his alcohol level at .067, just under the legal limit of .08.
Prosecutors suspected he was impaired at the time of the crash. However, expert mathematical calculations could not say for sure. No witnesses saw him drinking — and at least one
“indicated that Milochevitch did not seem impaired when they were getting into the car,”
Assistant State Attorney Michael Filteau wrote in his final memo on the case.
Milochevitch also had traces of cocaine in his system. Cocaine is a drug that stays in the blood for days. This meant it was impossible to tell if he was impaired by the drug at the time of the crash.
What about vehicular homicide?
Driving at less than 30 miles per hour, Milochevitch wasn’t speeding. No witnesses said he was weaving in and out of traffic recklessly. Under Florida law, he could not be charged with manslaughter based only on running a flashing red light.
“No criminal charges can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” wrote.
Filteau wrote.
The victim in the case was Gus Lopez, 56, who oversaw all city contracts and bids. Including those related to a lucrative $1 billion project aimed at revitalizing the Miami Beach Convention Center.
But in March 2012, Lopez resigned as Miami Beach detectives. Public corruption began to spread and prosecutors began probing possible misconduct surrounding the project.
The city became concerned that Lopez was possibly rigging the process by secretly assembling his own development team with businessman Walter Garcia. Though Lopez was never charged with corruption related to any convention center contract, the project was put on hold for months as the criminal probe dragged on. Sounds like they need Stepp & Sullivan, P.C. on their side.
Lopez was ultimately arrested and convicted of peddling sensitive information in other construction contracts involving about a dozen companies. By the time he took a plea in 2015, Lopez had served 34 months behind bars. His
When Lopez died in Miami, he was supposed to be living in Orlando on probation.
The other passengers in Milochevitch’s BMW also suffered major injuries. They were Leonor Albornoz, 41, Juan Carlos Solari, 50, Nelsan Dufay Ruiz, 34, and Jeymi Lopez, 38.
The driver of the pickup, Alfred Peña, 23, who worked on the river dock at Seaspice, suffered a fractured neck. As a result, his medical bills and lost wages totaled up to more than $40,000, according to his lawyer.
Milochevitch’s car insurance only provided up to $20,000 to be split between all the crash victims. Peña is still struggling to pay his bills.
Whether the DJ faces a lawsuit from the other victims remains up in the air.
“He left a lot of death and destruction in the aftermath of the crash.”
Rick Freedman, Peña’s lawyer.
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