A man is facing charges including DUI manslaughter in connection with a three-car crash involving a Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue truck earlier this year that killed one and seriously injured another.
Dominick Rella Jr., 20, of Miramar, was driving a 2013 Audi TT RS shortly after 4 a.m. March 25 west along West Broward Boulevard near the intersection of Northwest Seventh Avenue, approaching a red traffic light, according to a probable cause affidavit. At the same time, a man in a 2018 BMW 330i was driving south along Northwest Seventh Avenue, heading toward the intersection where the traffic light was green.
Rella and the driver of the BMW entered the intersection simultaneously, where the front of the Audi collided with the left side of the BMW, according to the affidavit. The impact caused the BMW to then collide with a Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue truck before it came to a stop.
A passenger in Rella’s car and the man driving the BMW were both taken to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale with serious injuries, the affidavit said.
The BMW driver died at the hospital. His name is redacted in the affidavit.
The crew members in the fire-rescue truck were not injured, and Rella was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, the affidavit said.
Rella was traveling at just under 83 mph in the 35 mph zone the moment he collided with the BMW, which had been traveling at 17 mph, according to the affidavit.
Toxicology testing shortly after the crash showed Rella had blood-alcohol-concentration levels ranging between 0.169 and 0.172, the affidavit said, above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. His license had been suspended in February.
Rella is facing charges of vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter and DUI causing serious bodily injury, among others. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, court records show.
He was released from jail after posting bail and is on a GPS monitoring pre-trial release program. Rella is not allowed to drive while the case is pending and cannot consume any drugs or alcohol, according to court records.