Office of the State Attorney

PRESS RELEASE

May 9, 2024

   

State of Florida v. Gregory James Woodward

                                                                           

DOB: 08/12/1997

Case Number: 2022 305732 CFDB

 

Volusia County Defendant Sentenced to Prison for Deadly Head-on Collision

DAYTONA BEACH – During a hearing this morning, defendant Gregory Woodward was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by 5 years of probation. He pled last month to two counts of DUI Manslaughter, two counts of DUI Causing Serious Bodily Injury to Another, DUI with Damage to Person/Property and Driving Under the Influence.

In the early morning hours of October 24, 2021, while under the influence of alcohol, Woodward was driving his vehicle the wrong way on Interstate 95 South and collided head-on with another vehicle.

Two passengers, a 27-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man, in the vehicle that the defendant hit died from their injuries at the scene. The front-seat passenger in the defendant’s vehicle and another passenger from the second vehicle sustained serious injuries from the crash.

Woodward confessed in an interview with Florida Highway Patrol investigators that he had been drinking alcohol in the hours leading up to the crash. A warrant was also executed for his medical records following the crash, which confirmed his blood was positive for alcohol. A calculation was completed to approximate Woodward’s blood alcohol level to be .10 at the time of the collision, which is more than the legal limit.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case. “Such a senseless and avoidable tragedy that has forever changed the lives of all involved.”

The case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol. Assistant State Attorney Sarah Thomas successfully prosecuted the case for the state. The Honorable Kathryn Weston presided over the case and pronounced sentence.

 

For more information contact: 

Haley Harrison | Multimedia Specialist/PIO | Office of State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Florida's Seventh Judicial Circuit | SAOPIO@SAO7.org