Man gets life sentence for drunk driving accident that killed two girls and grandfather

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man was sentenced to life in prison Monday for killing two little girls and their grandfather in a car accident while under the influence of methamphetamine.

The Ocala Star-Banner reports that the Ocala District Judge handed down the verdict on 52-year-old Steven Lynn after about two hours of testimony from Lynn’s own family and that of the victims. In November, he pleaded no contest to three counts of drunken manslaughter and other traffic violations.

Lynn was arrested by state police in November 2019 after his pickup truck ran through traffic lights and crashed into a compact SUV, officials said. The SUV driver, 71-year-old Emilio Nunes, had just picked up his granddaughters, 9-year-old Nevae Nunes and 7-year-old Catalaya Nunes, from school. All three died in a plane crash.

Officials said state troops enforced a sober regime at the scene. The results of a court-ordered blood test showed that Lynn was under the influence of methamphetamine and two other substances at the time of the accident.

Defense attorney Bill Ramputi asked the judge to consider sentencing Lynn to four years in prison followed by long probation. Ramputi said the accident showed shortsightedness, but Lynn was not a man with evil intentions.

Assistant State Attorney Toby Hunt said Lynn deserved a life sentence because after the accident he showed no remorse for the victims and thought only of himself. The prosecutor added that a passenger in Lynn’s car offered to drive on the day of the accident because Lynn did not look well.

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