LAKELAND, Fla. — A man accused of driving impaired faces several charges in a crash that killed a Lakeland father and left his 18-year-son critically injured.
Joshua Waters, a 34-year-old Lakeland man, is charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI crash with serious bodily injury, DUI and resisting, according to a Polk County Sheriff's Office news release.
Deputies say Walters was heading south on U.S. 98 N. north of Lakeland just after 7:30 a.m. Tuesday when, at some point, the trailer he was pulling became unstable and crossed the lane into the driver's door of an oncoming box truck.
A 44-year-old Lakeland man died of head trauma in the crash, the sheriff's office said. His 18-year-old son from Tampa was taken to the hospital and remains in critical condition.
Two passengers in Waters' truck were not hurt, deputies say, adding that Waters only complained of general pain after the crash.
"At this point in the investigation, it appears that the trailer being pulled was overweight and improperly loaded, causing it to be unstable…that will be investigated further," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "What is obvious is that the driver pulling the trailer was driving while impaired, and his actions resulted in a man being killed, and his adult son being critically injured."
Deputies executed a search warrant for a blood sample from Waters, which will be sent for analysis by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the sheriff's office said.
You can watch Judd's full press conference here:
