Uber Driver Arrested For Vehicular Homicide, DUI Manslaughter
HAINES CITY, FL – After a nearly two-month investigation by the Haines City Police Department’s Traffic Homicide Unit, an Orlando man was arrested Thursday night for his role in a car crash in the early morning hours of Jan. 8 that resulted in another man’s death.
Clint Fischer Jr., 27, is being held on charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, possession of
methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Fischer was under the influence when he hit the back of a tractor trailer, culminating in the death of 30-year-old passenger Estevan Pascual of Orlando.
The southbound semi was nearly stopped at U.S. 17/92 and Shamrock Drive when Fischer struck it at about midnight in a rented Toyota sedan. Pascual suffered blunt force trauma to the head and died on the scene.
Emergency personnel arrived and CPR was attempted, but Pascual could not be resuscitated. Fischer was
transported to AdventHealth Heart of Florida to be treated for facial injuries.
Fischer told police that he was an Uber driver and had picked up Pascual in Orlando to drive him to Uncle Pete Road, located in unincorporated Haines City. The driver of the semi told police that he was looking for the location to drop off his load when his vehicle was struck in the back by the Toyota.
The investigation determined that Fischer’s vehicle had begun drifting off the road and showed no signs of braking prior to impact. Upon impact, the Toyota continued forward before coming to a rest alongside the tractor trailer.
Located in the Toyota was a bag belonging to Fischer with a glass smoking device containing a powdery residue that tested positive for methamphetamine. A warrant was obtained and a blood sample was taken from Fischer at Heart of Florida to be tested by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Results of the blood testing were received on Tuesday and showed Fischer to be under the influence of a “greater than therapeutic amount” of meth and of THC (marijuana). The Orange County Sheriff’s Office assisted with making the arrest at Fischer’s Orlando home.
“As law enforcement officers, we see the merits of these ride-sharing applications for those who are drinking or without a license,” Chief Jim Elensky said. “Those using these applications should be able to have the expectation that their drivers be alert, competent and sober behind the wheel. In this case, the driver’s actions cost a man his life”
