Driver found guilty of vehicular homicide in U.S. 441 crash
By Missy Diaz | South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
3:46 PM EDT, April 3, 2008
As a jury found Joshua Braswell guilty of vehicular homicide today, the mother of the victim, Carol Nannariello, kissed the gold necklace charm that contained the high school graduation picture of her now dead son, Joseph.
Braswell, 21, of Greenacres, was behind the wheel of a Honda CRX that plowed into a tractor-trailer on U.S. 441 in October 2006. Nannariello, his passenger, died at the scene.
According to his mother, the 19-year-old from Royal Palm Beach loved cars and dreamed of becoming a mechanic. A graduate of the former Survivors Charter School, Nannariello worked at Schumacher Buick.
Braswell’s public defenders plan to ask Ciruit Judge Lucy Chernow Brown to sentence him as a youthful offender, which caps the punishment at six years behind bars.
Carol Nannariello wants Braswell to get the maximum 15 years.
“I’m not a mean person, but justice needs to be done,” she said.
Sentencing was set for June 6.
During the trial, Prosecutor Adam McMichael claimed Braswell was speeding recklessly when he plowed into the truck carrying 30,000 pounds of okra. The 18-wheeler was making a U-turn when Braswell’s Honda skidded underneath its tire and axle. Rescue workers had to cut Braswell out.
Assistant Public Defender Shawnee Lawrence, in her opening statement, countered that it was the truck driver, not Braswell, who was at fault that night.
Braswell and Nannariello were headed south on U.S. 441 to The Home Depot off Hypoluxo Road, where they met every Monday night to look at each other’s cars.
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