Driver charged in deadly crash faces judge

MIAMI (WSVN) -- The driver accused of killing a pedestrian on Miami Beach faced a judge and some very serious charges in court Friday morning.

Joao Mauro, 20, has been charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and cocaine possession.

According to Police, Mauro was going twice the posted speed limit when he struck and killed 47-year-old Russell Knudson with his Mercedes sport utility vehicle near Collins and 40th Street, Wednesday. Knudson had just finished his shift as a waiter at nearby Carrabba's Restaurant and was placing his bicycle in the back of a friend's car when Mauro struck him.

Miami Beach Police said Mauro was impaired, but Mauro and his attorneys insists he was not drunk or high. "There's nothing. It was a terrible accident," said Dan Lurvey, Mauro's attorney.

Mauro's attorneys said a breathalyzer test came back well below the legal driving limit and the white powder under his nose after the crash was not cocaine. "There is nothing, nothing in this probable cause affidavit indicating that he was driving and he was impaired," said Lurvey. "The white powdery substance can be attributed to the air bag that deployed in his face."

"We intend to defend these charges because we believe that the evidence will show that Mr. Mauro was not DUI or involved in a vehicular homicide," said Gus Lage, Mauro's other attorney.

Mauro has been released on $245,000 bond and is now under house arrest. He will be ordered to turn over his passport.

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