A Plantation man has been charged in an alleged high-speed DUI crash on Interstate 75 last year that killed his passenger, who was a well-known motorcycle racer.
Daniel Edward Morales, 37, was arrested Wednesday on charges including DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, DUI causing property damage, and reckless driving causing property damage, records showed.
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The charges stem from the Nov. 16, 2024 crash that killed Chyler William Weatherford, a racer who competed in MotoAmerica and other racing organizations.
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According to an arrest affidavit, Morales was driving a 2017 Audi R8 northbound on I-75 near Sheridan Street in Pembroke Pines around 1 a.m. when he lost control of the car and crashed into a guardrail.
Weatherford was pronounced dead at the scene, and Morales was injured and hospitalized.
The affidavit was heavily redacted but a prosecutor gave more details during Morales' appearance in bond court.
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According to the prosecutor, the Audi's black box showed that a half-second before the crash, he was traveling at 100 miles per hour, and between three seconds to one second before the crash, he was at 100% acceleration.
Morales also had blood tests taken at the hospital less than one hour after the crash that showed he had a blood alcohol level of .091, above Florida's legal limit of .08, the prosecutor said. His blood also contained the metabolite of Klonopin, the prosecutor said.
The prosecutor added that Morales had closed out his tab at a Pembroke Pines bar about 13 minutes before the crash.
Weatherford's mother, Leanne O'Donnell, appeared on Zoom during the bond court hearing and became choked up as she described the pain of his loss.
"I'd like to let you know that because of Mr. Morales' poor judgment, his actions and his carelessness, he took away a father that will no longer see his son graduate from high school or celebrate holidays with his family," O'Donnell said. "He's devastated our family. He was, Kyle was the caregiver of his disabled father. Now, Mr. Morales was able to celebrate his birthday with his family, but Kyle only had a celebration of life on his birthday without him, our lives have been changed forever."
Morales' defense attorney pointed out that his client had voluntarily surrendered and wasn't a flight risk.
The judge set Morales' bond at $160,000 and ordered him not to drive, have drugs or alcohol, and told him he can't leave the tri-county area and must surrender his passport.
