A man who formerly lived in Clay County faces charges of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in connection with a fatal crash in May that killed a Putnam County man. The accident happened in downtown Hastings.
Paul Kevin Ditch, 49, was booked into the St. Johns County jail Tuesday morning on the charges, both of which are second-degree felonies.
His bond was set at $15,000, and he was released Tuesday.
On May 11 around 1 a.m., Ditch was driving a Toyota Tacoma south on State Road 207 near Main Street in Hastings when his car struck the back of a Nissan Altima driven by Kaylon Omar Varnes, 29, of Grandin, according to a Florida Highway Patrol crash report. Grandin is a small town in Putnam County.
The report lists an address for Ditch in Fleming Island, which is in Clay County, but St. Johns County booking records show that Ditch now lives in Alexandria, Va.
Ditch’s car overturned and spun around, but he was not injured.
Varnes was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:09 a.m. Both were wearing seatbelts.
Ditch told a trooper that before the crash “he looked to his left noticing the Kangaroo gas station located on the north east corner of S.R. 207 and Main Street when all of [the] sudden his air bags went off,” according to the report.
He said he chose to drive home via S.R. 207 “because he was uncomfortable driving on the interstate.”
Ditch said he was not driving fast, according to the report.
Officials gave Ditch a blood alcohol test after the crash, which showed his blood alcohol content at .076, said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Dylan Bryan. That is below the legal limit of .08.
Even though Ditch’s blood alcohol meant that he was not legally drunk, officials can charge someone with DUI if they believe that the person was too impaired to drive safely, Bryan said.
Hank Coxe, a lawyer at the Bedell firm in Jacksonville, is representing Paul Ditch.
Coxe said, “It’s a most unfortunate event, and we’ll deal with it in court,” but had no other comments about the case.
Ditch voluntarily surrendered himself at the Sheriff’s Office after learning charges were going to be filed, Coxe said.
Trying to find some balance between justice, compassion and responsibility, Judge Michael Traynor handed Paul Ditch a five-year prison sentence for vehicular manslaughter on Wednesday.
Ditch, 50, had previously pleaded guilty to the charge, taking responsibility for a May 11, 2012, crash on State Road 207 in Hastings that killed Kaylon Omar Varnes.
“The lives of both families are going to be affected by what I do,” Traynor said before issuing the sentence. “I wish there was something I could say that would bring some sense to this.”
Traynor was forced to weigh statements by family members of the victim and those by friends and the wife of Ditch.
Ditch himself was the last to speak. He talked about remorse without directly asking for leniency from the court.
“Not a minute goes by that I don’t wish I could trade places with (Varnes),” Ditch said. “I can never forgive myself. I won’t allow myself to be over it.
“I don’t deserve happiness.”
The judge also had to contend with the facts of the case as presented by Assistant State Attorney Chris France.
France said Ditch was traveling at around 67 mph in a zone with a 45 mph speed limit when he crashed his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck into Varnes’ 1999 Nissan Altima, which was stopped at a traffic signal.
He also referred to the investigation that revealed Ditch’s blood-alcohol level at .076. That is just below the legal limit of .08. But France said the blood test was performed more than four hours after the crash occurred.
France asked the court to impose a sentence in line with the state’s guidelines. Ditch’s official score sheet suggested a prison sentence of 111 months. Because the crime was a second-degree felony, Traynor could have imposed a sentence of 15 years in prison.
“It’s a sad case; it’s a tragic case,” France said. “He (Ditch) is responsible for it.”
Varnes, who was 29 when he died, was coming home from work at about 1 a.m. when the wreck occurred. The Putnam County resident was a graduate of University of Florida and described by relatives as a math whiz.
Several members of the Varnes family asked for the maximum sentence, including Kaylon’s mother, Karen.
“He didn’t deserve to die like this,” she told the court.
Some of the anger resulted from the lack of a formal apology to the family. But Traynor explained to them in Wednesday’s hearing that Ditch had been advised by the state to avoid contact with the family prior to the sentencing hearing.
Those who spoke on behalf of Ditch mentioned how devastated he was by the wreck. They also talked about his commitment to service as a commander in the Navy.
Defense attorney Henry Coxe called Ditch a model citizen outside of one tragic mistake.
“(It was) an isolated event for which he has taken responsibility,” Coxe said. “He has done in his lifetime everything our society would ask. His very existence is to protect the people under him.”
In addition to the prison time, Traynor also issued a lifetime suspension of Ditch’s driver’s license, 10 years of probation and 1,000 hours of community service.
