A South Florida man who was on meth and cocaine when he ran a stop sign and slammed a stolen car into another vehicle, killing another driver and injuring five other people, is facing a number of charges in the crash, police said.
Nicholas James Castelao, 35, was arrested Monday on charges including DUI manslaughter, DUI causing serious bodily injury, grand theft and driving without a license, according to a Miami Police arrest warrant.
According to the warrant, Castelao was behind the wheel of a stolen BMW 325i and was driving at a high rate of speed when he ran the stop sign at the intersection of Southwest 17th Street and Southwest 25th Avenue in Little Havana the afternoon of March 26 and crashed into a Volkswagen Jetta.
The driver of the other car, 49-year-old Robert Torra, was killed at the scene. Four people who were in Torra's car were injured, along with one person who was in Castelao's car.
When police searched the stolen BMW, they found a glass tube on the floor, which is commonly used to smoke crack cocaine, the report said. They also discovered that Castelao had his driver's license revoked in October 2015, the warrant said.
Castelao was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for a broken leg. While there, he spontaneously told a nurse that he was on meth, the warrant said.
While Castelao was being checked out, an emergency room aide found three clear baggies of crack cocaine in his pocket, the warrant said. He also had multiple credit cards with other people's names on them, according to the warrant.
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A urine sample taken from Castelao later tested positive for cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamine, the warrant said.
Castelao appeared in court Tuesday where he was ordered held on $54,000 bond. He was also appointed a public defender.
