Daytona Beach, FL – An Edgewater man faces over 20 years in prison for driving under the influence in a crash near Oak Hill that killed his teenage cousin nearly 2 years ago.
19-year-old Austen Goodrich entered a no contest plea to 3 DUI-related charges in Volusia County court on Tuesday afternoon.
Austen made his plea in front of 7th Circuit Judge Frank Marriott for that July 2013 crash that killed 16-year-old Cody Goodrich and also sent Austen and a 15-year-old girl to Halifax Health Medical Center in critical condition.
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office believes alcohol played a factor in the accident because several open containers were found in the 2005 Dodge Dakota Austen was driving after it crashed into a ditch near the Turnbull Hammock Conservation Area.
Detectives say Austen – who was 17 years old at the time – was going westbound on West Halifax Avenue when it crossed over the railroad tracks and went airborne near the Elleanore Street intersection.
VCSO believes Austen somehow lost control of the vehicle when it hit the pavement, skidding sideways into the ditch and blocking the eastbound lane.
Cody was pronounced dead at the scene while 18-year-old Cheyenne Ellis – another passenger in the Dakota – suffered minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.
VCSO says Ellis was the only one of the 4 wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.
No other vehicles were involved.
Austen could get a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a year in Volusia County Jail when he’s sentenced on August 25th.
Austen Goodrich (mugshot courtesy Volusia County Jail)
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