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Woman sentenced after child is ejected from car during DUI crash

Woman sentenced after child is ejected from car during DUI crash
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FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Cape Coral woman was found guilty of driving under the influence after a 3-year-old was ejected from the vehicle she was driving in February of 2020.

The woman identified as Leslie Zeagler is sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter of a child and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

According to the State Attorney’s Office report, In February of 2020, Leslie Zeagler crashed her minivan when a three-year-old was ejected out of the car and died.

When Fort Myers police officers arrived at the scene, they determined that the child was not in a car seat. Officers also found that Zeagler was driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol which led to her arrest.

Following the 15-year sentence, Zeagler will have 10-year probation for one count of aggravated manslaughter of a child. According to the State Attorney’s Office, the first 24 months of probation will be drug offender probation. Zeagler was also sentenced to 174 months in prison followed by 6 months of probation for one count of DUI manslaughter that will run concurrent to count one.

Zeagler’s license is permanently revoked and she will need to follow a 10 PM to 6 AM curfew after she is released from prison.
She will attend DUI school, substance abuse evaluations, and undergo random drug tests along with100 hours of community service.

Lastly, Zeagler was given a $2,000 fine she is forced to pay for court and prosecution costs.