Brazilian Race Car Driver Accepts Plea Deal For Deadly 2012 Crash
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – A Brazilian race car driver accused of killing a 45-year-old man on Miami Beach more than a year ago accepted a plea deal Monday.
Joao Paulo Escudero Mauro, who was 20-years-old at the time of the crash in January, 2012, had his charge of vehicular manslaughter reduced to a traffic infraction of careless driving with a fatality.
The deal came with a list of requirements including 100 hours of community service.
Mauro must also make a donation to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) every year on the victim's birthday equivalent to the victim's age he would have turned that year.
In addition, his license was suspended for 10 years and the victim's family requested Escudero Mauro visit the crime scene to look at the photos of Russell Knudson.
Knudson died when he was struck by Escudero Mauro's silver Mercedes SUV traveling northbound on Collins Avenue at more than 60 mph on a street where the posted limit is 30 mph.
According to police, Knudson was loading his bike into a gold Toyota in the parking lane at 39th Street when the Mercedes swerved, hitting him and then colliding with a light pole which toppled to the ground.
A small bag of cocaine was found on the scene and Escudero Mauro's arrest report said officers noted a "white powdery substance in his left nostril" which his attorney told a judge was dust from the SUV's airbag deploying.
During Escudero Mauro's initial court appearance, prosecutors tried to argue he failed all of the field sobriety tests, however, police said on-scene breathalyzer test was below the legal limit at .007.
During questioning, Escudero Mauro said he had been drinking earlier in the evening. He also said he swerved to avoid hitting a vehicle which had stopped in front of him.
According to police, Escudero Mauro had on him a Brazilian state identification card which had an altered birth date which indicated that he was older than 21-years-old.
Online there are numerous images and articles about Escudero Mauro noting that he raced in the U.S. and Canada.
