ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The family of a woman killed when a car struck her scooter in St. Augustine said Friday they are still seeking answers after a man was arrested and charged in the crash.
Florida Highway Patrol investigators say Kevin Hoffman, 59, was driving about 90 mph in a 45 mph zone when his car struck 64-year-old Delinda Heinrich on July 8. Hoffman was arrested and faces charges including vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly crash, authorities said.
“He was going 90 miles per hour,” a Florida Highway Patrol statement said. Investigators said Hoffman’s blood-alcohol level was 0.212 — nearly three times Florida’s legal driving limit of 0.08.
Heinrich, known to family as Ronette, was a daughter, mother and sister, her family said.
“She was amazing. And the world has lost one of the best,” her sister, Rhonda Ruthette Clay, said.
Clay said she listened to her sister’s voicemail and begged her to pick up the phone on the day Heinrich was killed.
“It was one of the worst days of my life,” she said.
Clay has also criticized the criminal justice system for allowing Hoffman to be out of custody.
Court records show Hoffman was arrested last year in March on DUI charges after breath samples measured about 0.28 and 0.27. Those charges were later reduced to reckless driving, and his probation was ended early on June 1, records show.
“To know that he had just got off probation…the disbelief, the anger that our judicial system let a DUI plead down and then let him out six months early,” Clay said. “My sister would still be here if they’d have kept him.”
Deputies said they found Hoffman stumbling next to his Tesla with a half-empty bottle of alcohol in the passenger seat following last year’s arrest.
Heinrich’s family said witnesses told them people at the scene prayed over her and that she “literally looked like an angel” in her final moments.
Clay urged prosecutors to seek the maximum penalty.
“Actually, I would rather life without parole because Ronette don’t have life no more,” she said.
Hoffman’s arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 14 at 9 a.m., court records show. The case remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.