The High Court has ordered the extradition of Samuel Joseph Tucker to the United States to face a Florida charge of driving under the influence manslaughter over a crash that killed Alyssa Kay Vice in June 2017.
Mr Justice McDermott ruled on 21 January 2019 that the alleged conduct underlying the manslaughter charge corresponded with manslaughter under Irish law. He also found it corresponded with dangerous driving causing death and careless driving causing death. The court was deciding whether the offences met Ireland’s legal requirements for extradition, not whether Mr Tucker was guilty of the Florida charges.
The extradition request arose from a crash on State Road 17 in Highlands County. The evidence outlined in an affidavit from a Florida assistant state attorney alleged that Mr Tucker was driving a Maserati which left the road, struck a power pole and fence, overturned and came to rest. Ms Vice, who was in the front passenger seat, died at the scene. The affidavit said the car was travelling at about 127 miles per hour at impact and that a blood sample taken from Mr Tucker later showed an alcohol level of 0.162 grams per decilitre.
The judge said the Florida charge alleged that Mr Tucker deliberately drove while intoxicated and that his driving caused Ms Vice’s death. He concluded that the alleged facts could support a prosecution in Ireland for manslaughter and for the road-traffic offences. He rejected the argument that the absence of a required mental element under Florida law made extradition incompatible with the right to trial in accordance with law.
The United States’ diplomatic note referred to all three charges, but sought extradition on the two property-damage counts under a treaty provision allowing additional offences to be included where they do not meet the minimum penalty threshold. The judge found extradition was sought on the manslaughter count, with the two other counts dependent on that count. He directed extradition on all three; the two property-damage counts were not standalone grounds for extradition.
Mr Tucker also said in an affidavit that civilians had threatened and attacked him in Florida, including an alleged shotgun wound, and that he feared for his life if returned. The judge found this evidence insufficient to refuse extradition, citing a lack of sufficiently cogent evidence that authorities would not protect him, the absence of medical evidence, and the lack of a formal complaint against a particular person. He noted that the alleged threats and assault were attributed to civilians, not state or federal agencies.