A jury of Tammy Dianne Brown's peers will hear closing arguments today from attorneys and make the ultimate decision on the Manning woman's future.
Brown was charged in August 2014 with felony DUI resulting in death and felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury after a late night wreck that took the life of a 34-year-old Manning man and sent another to a Florence hospital with a traumatic brain injury.
Maurelio DeLeon of 1258 Audrey Lane in Maning was declared dead at the scene of the wreck, which happened on Paxville Highway between Home Branch Road and J.W. Rhames Road. The late Clarendon County Coroner Hayes Samuels said at the time that DeLeon died from blunt force trauma to the chest and neck.
According to the S.C. Highway Patrol, DeLeon was driving a 1994 Dodge Dakota and was struck by Brown’s 1999 Hyundai, causing the truck to veer off the highway and strike a tree.
“I don’t know what happened,” Brown said during her bond hearing in 2014. “I saw an 18-wheeler coming toward us, and he was trying to pass me. I guess he thought he had time. I don’t know what to do now. I didn’t know anything about anyone being killed until earlier today. I didn’t do this. I would never do anything like this.”
Brown said that she had been at a small cookout, and that a friend had ridden in her car with her with a cup of alcohol. She said the cup was still in her car at the time of the wreck, but that she had not been drinking.
“He just went around me, and all this happened,” Brown said, tearfully. “The next thing I know, the airbags are throwing me back.”
If convicted for felony DUI resulting in death, Brown faces one to 25 years in prison and between $10,100 and $25,100 in fines, along with license suspension for the term of imprisonment plus five additional years upon release. If convicted for felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury, Brown faces from 30 days in jail to 15 years in prison, along with $5,000 to $10,000 in fines, along with license suspension for the term of imprisonment plus three years.
