A 28-year-old Key West man with a DUI on his record has been charged in a three-car wreck that killed two people and injured three others, and could face his second DUI charge pending blood tests, according to state troopers.
Pierson Villalobos on Thursday was charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter in a wreck two days after Thanksgiving that killed Marathon resident Christopher Jennings, 33, and his girlfriend, Deborah Mangrum, 42, who was moving here from Wyoming to be with him.
A Nicaraguan with permanent U.S. residency, Villalobos remains in Monroe County jail on $1 million bond, according to the prosecutor in the case.
"The concern is that given the serious nature of the offense, he might be a flight risk," Monroe County Assistant State Attorney Patrick McCullah said of the high bond.
Mangrum, who has four children and owned a hair salon in Lusk, Wyo., died at the scene. Jennings, who worked at Annette's Lobster & Steak House, died Dec. 3 at Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.
"Now we'll see if the legal system will provide justice," said Jennings' father, Michael. "He (Villalobos) has had a chance before and he obviously couldn't keep himself sober to drive a vehicle. He shouldn't be allowed to drive."
Villalobos has a prior DUI conviction from a May 2006 crash, when his blood-alcohol content was 0.2 or higher, according to court records. The legal limit is 0.08.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) troopers say alcohol also was a factor in the crash that occurred at Mile Marker 47 in Marathon about 9:25 p.m. Nov. 28, as Villalobos sped northbound, swerved into oncoming traffic and hit a southbound car that hit the car behind it, which Mangrum was driving, reports say. Villalobos' vehicle went airborne and flipped end over end before coming to rest.
Three other Marathon residents were hurt in the crash and taken to Fishermen's Hospital: Villalobos' passenger, Yendel N. Garcia, 32; Mercedes Diaz, 57, who was driving the car Villalobos hit, and her passenger, Jordi Torna, 10.
All have since been released from the hospital, FHP spokesman Alex Annunziato said.
alinhardt@keysnews.com