As someone who knew both the deceased and the defendant, however briefly, I felt it incumbent upon me to clarify a few points on this unfortunate case:
• His BAC was 0.923 (typo??) when a field sobriety test was administered by NOPD later that evening;
• Hers was listed as 0.112 post-mortem;
• The legal limit is 0.08 in Orleans Parish, State of Louisiana;
• The intersection of Tchoupitoulas and Calliope (
https://goo.gl/maps/webov7KchZR2) is fairly straightforward to navigate, with wide sight-lines, if not especially well-lit at night;
• The accident occurred 1 mile into their otherwise 6-mile journey back home;
• Neither party, originally from Florida, had lived in New Orleans very long;
• Found guilty of vehicular homicide in 2008, Mr. Gumto was sentenced to substantial jail time, which he served in part, his term concluding somewhere between 2012 and 2014;
• The facts of his conviction and unsuccessful appeal in court can be read at
https://504.la/2D9FCHO• His online profiles reside at
https://www.facebook.com/brian.albert.988 and
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briangumto/• During his 6 months in New Orleans, Mr. Gumto was a salesperson for Harley-Davidson Motor Company; after his release from prison, he was again hired by the company as a parts department manager at a different location, and he currently is employed by Greg's Custom Cycle Works of Clearwater, Florida.
Sorry to dredge up a morbid and long-forgotten topic, but the trauma to both sides was real and palpable at the time. I hope my posting this (hopefully unbiased) assessment helps to clarify things a bit without casting aspersions.
- Libra