CASSELBERRY, Fla. — There are new questions about whether an accused drunk driver should have been on the road. Investigators say O Kevin Moradian was drunk when he killed a local corrections officer earlier this month.
It was Moradian's third drunk driving arrest, but he's only been convicted once. Still, the victim's family told WFTV the state missed its chance to save their loved one's life.
Moradian is accused of hitting and killing 38-year-old corrections officer and Iraq war vet Jason Russo. A camera on the dash of a Casselberry police car recorded a stop of Moradian in May of last year.
"Don't even think about it!" an officer yelled at Moradian during the stop.
It was his second DUI arrest. But, less than a month later, he got his license back through an administrative hearing with the DMV. Moradian's license was still active when, troopers say, he was driving drunk again this month and turned in front of Russo's motorcycle in east Orange County.
"He should've been taken off the street before he killed somebody," Russo's mother Jill Gelber said.
Russo's mother and stepfather aren't satisfied with the state's explanation. The DMV gave Moradian his license back, because it determined police didn't have probable cause to stop him.
"This is a matter of due process. Just like in a courtroom, you deal with what's before you, the issue, the incident before you. We were not able to take into account his previous driving record," DMV Press Secretary Ann Howard told WFTV.
In fact, Moradian's record includes a long list of violations including DUI, reckless driving, even driving on a suspended license.
"Obviously, when this tragic event occurred, he was on probation," Seminole County Asst. State Attorney Pat Whitaker said.
Moradian ultimately pleaded guilty to reckless driving in the case, but Russo's family said the DMV should have done more to keep him off the road.
"And I can't imagine, in my right mind, to give this guy a license to go kill somebody. It just doesn't make sense," said Howard Gelber, Russo's stepfather.
Moradian got 60 days in jail for that case last year, but a judge agreed he wouldn't have to start serving that time until next month. Now he's in the Orange County jail facing vehicular homicide.
WFTV
