"The King" is now being treated like "The Plague" in NYC as
the NY state media feast on his DUI / Manslaughter charges.
Some of the current media accusations include:
* That his NY driving license was suspended before
the fatal accident.
* That he had 7 major traffic violations in the past,
among them: running stop signs & reckless driving.
More of the details are below. The charges could
produce a sentence as high as 15 years.
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The New York Post
January 1, 2008
YANK'S A ROAD HAZARD;
LEYRITZ'S 7 RAPS BEFORE FATAL DUI
When former Yankee Jim Leyritz sees red, he hits the gas.
Leyritz - accused of drunk enly blasting through a red light and
killing a young Florida mom last week - has racked up at least 7
traffic citations for blowing through stop signs, speeding and other
violations in the state since 2002, records show. At least twice
previously, Leyritz has been cited for ignoring stop signs, according
to the public records.
The 1996 World Series star was cited by a cop in January 2002 for
disobeying a stop sign at a 4-way intersection in Broward County, Fla.
Despite pleading guilty to that charge - and having his driver's li-
cense suspended - Leyritz was caught 4 months later by a cop for doing
76 mph in a 50 mph zone in the same county. He was written up for
speeding and driving with a suspended license. Just over a year
later, in July 2003, Leyritz was nabbed yet again by a police officer
who cited him for disobeying a stop or yield sign. 4 months after
that, he was cited for driving too fast for conditions.
Leyritz's reckless ways behind the wheel caught up with him early
Friday, when he ran a red light in his Ford Expedition and slammed
into a Mitsubishi Montero driven by Fredia Ann Veitch, a 30-year-old
bartender who was ejected from her SUV.
Leyritz, who had gone out Thursday night to celebrate his 44th birth-
day, had red and watery eyes and reeked of booze when an officer
spoke to him after the crash, police said.
He faces up to 15 YEARS IN PRISON if convicted of DUI manslaughter.
Yesterday, his sobbing ex-father-in-law said that Leyritz had broken
his habit of finding himself a driver. Leyritz and his buddies "usu-
ally get a designated driver or a limo," said Mickey Cochrane, whose
daughter, Karrie, is Leyritz's ex-wife. Cochrane told The Post that
since the crash, Leyritz had been "waking up, screaming." "He's
having flashbacks of the lady," he said. Cochrane said his family has
gotten a psychiatrist to counsel Leyritz and his three sons.
The Albany, Times Union
January 3, 2008
Leyritz's license was suspended; Driving privileges of former Yankee
player involved in fatal Florida accident had been taken away here
When former NYankee catcher Jim Leyritz hit and killed a mother of 2
in Florida last week, he was driving with a license suspended in New
York for an infraction in Guilderland a month before.
Leyritz's license was suspended on Nov. 23rd for failing to answer a
court summons. He was ticketed by State Police on June 20 for using a
cellphone while driving on the Thruway in Guilderland. The suspension
applies only to New York state. Leyritz was allegedly drunk when he
ran a stoplight at 3:20 a.m. in his 2006 Ford Explorer. He smashed
into a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero driven by 30-year-old Fredia Ann
Veitch, said Detective Katherine Collins, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
police department spokeswoman. Veitch later died at the hospital.
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