Driver in 2019 crash in Lehigh Acres pleads no contest to DUI-manslaughter, gets 10 years in prison

Roxanne James's wish came true Wednesday.

Andy Enrique Gonzalez, the man she said was responsible for the death of her father in a 2017 crash in Lehigh Acres is going to prison. For more than a decade.

"I think 10 years is a good amount of time to think about what he has taken from others," James said. Shortly after a second fatal crash that involved Gonzalez in 2019, James had made a wish that the Lehigh Acres man would be taken off the street.

"I hope that boy gets locked away for a long time," James said in February 2020.

Gonzalez, 25, pleaded no contest to DUI manslaughter and was adjudicated guilty Friday and sentenced Wednesday before Judge Bruce E. Kyle in Lee County Court.

Gonzalez was the driver of a van that crashed Dec. 18, splitting in pieces and killing passenger Roxana Castro, 23. He had been charged with manslaughter-driving under the influence in that crash.

More:Woman killed in crash on Lee Boulevard in Lehigh Acres; 95th fatality in Lee County this year

Gonzalez was driving a 2013 Honda CRV east on Lee Boulevard at a high rate of speed when he drove off the road and hit two trees, a Florida Highway Patrol report said.

As part of his sentence, Gonzalez will spend 124.5 months in a state prison, followed by 36 months of probation and be prohibited for life from having a driver's license.

More:Daughters of victim in 2017 fatal crash say latest Lehigh Acres fatality needn't have happened

More:Driver in Wednesday's fatal crash in Lehigh faced vehicular homicide charges in 2017 crash

Gonzalez had previously been charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving with damage in a 2017 crash that took the life of Roxanne James' father, Ernest Wayne Peterson, 82.

In the previous incident, Gonzalez, again with Castro as a passenger, was traveling along a Lehigh Acres roadway on April 30, 2017, when their 2004 Saturn smashed into the driver's side of a 2003 Nissan Altima driven by Peterson.

During the 2017 crash investigation, an examination of the electronic data recorder from the Saturn SUV found that Gonzalez was driving 88 mph to impact. The speed limit at the crash scene at Leeland Heights Boulevard and Maple Avenue South is 45 mph.

Peterson was severely injured and died 15 days later at Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers.

News-Press special offer: Give us a try and subscribe for $1!

Skid marks at the crash scene first thought to be from the 2017 crash were later determined to be from a previous crash. The Gonzalez vehicle's electronic data recorder information showed that the SUV's brakes had not been applied before impact, the report said.

James and her sister Rayanna Edwards were angry at the outcome then but reserved judgment.

"We thought it was a slam-dunk case. If the jury (in 2017) would have found him guilty, maybe (Castro) would still be alive," she said in 2020. "My sister and I hoped he had learned his lesson."

Gonzalez was found not guilty of the vehicular homicide charge and the reckless driving charge was dropped. He was later found guilty of failure to obey a traffic control device.

"My sister and I were talking last night and we are both happy to see that he is now locked up for several years," she said. "It is sad that two innocent people lost their lives due to his reckless driving.  Glad he is off the street."

In the December 2019 crash, Castro was belted in her seat but separated from the car when the vehicle split into several pieces by the force of the crash, troopers said. She died at the scene.

Gonzalez' blood alcohol level in the 2019 crash was reported by the FHP as 0.180. In Florida it is illegal to drive with a .08% blood alcohol content or higher if you are older than 21.

Connect with breaking news reporter Michael Braun: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook), @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter) or mbraun@news-press.com.

Journalism matters. Your support matters. Subscribe to The News-Press.