Woman Faces Trial in Traffic Death

(Lee County, Florida) A 25-year-old New Jersey woman, Ashley Brooke East, will face trial on ten charges for allegedly causing the automobile crash in Fort Myers Beach that killed returning Iraqi war vet, Staff Sgt. Daniel Beougher, and seriously injuring Beougher's wife, Lauren.

East was charged with DUI manslaughter and driving without a license, among other offenses, including leaving the scene of an accident since she had to be arrested in New Jersey after fleeing.

East’s attorney, Assistant Regional Council Ita Neymotin, asked Lee Circuit Judge Thomas Reese on Wednesday for a Nov. 25 pretrial conference date and acknowledged East’s waiver to a speedy trial.

“There were a lot of witnesses in this trial, your honor,” Neymotin told Reese.

In court, East fidgeted uncomfortably in an orange Lee County jail jumpsuit.

Incidentally, the East case was the impertus behind new legislation. Although unlicensed, East had borrowed the vehicle involved in the accident. Consequently, Beougher's family and others lobbied to make loaning a vehicle to an unlicensed driver subject to criminal penalties. Called "Beougher's Bill" and signed by Gov. Crist, it makes the offense punishable by license suspension and possible jail time.