OFFICE OF THE STATE ATTORNEY KATHERINE FERNANDEZ RUNDLE

ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT STATE ATTORNEY

INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM

TO: File DATE: 3/2/22

DEFT NAME: Irwin Rockwell

CASE NO: F21-14995

FROM: Laura Adams RE: Case disposition

Assistant State Attorney

On March 2, 2022, the defendant Irwin Rockwell pled guilty to the charges of Manslaughter, DUI
Manslaughter, DUI Causing Serious Injury, Reckless Driving Causing Serious Injury, and 4 th or Subsequent
DUI. He was sentenced to a total of 17 years in state prison, to be followed by 10 years of reporting probation.
At the time the defendant pled guilty, the next-of kin for deceased victim Wellington Rivera were present in
person (his mother and 2 of his brothers) and on Zoom (his wife). Also present in court at the time of the plea
were surviving victim Ed Williams Gonzalez, as well his father William Gonzalez, his children and his
significant other. In addition, multiple investigators from the Florida Highway Patrol, which investigated this
case were present as well as State Attorney’s Office Traffic Homicide Counselor Isis Ferreiro and Mothers
Against Drunk Driving advocate Sally Matson. Finally, it should be noted that the good Samaritan who helped
to rescue Ed Gonzalez was present in court. This individual, Mr. Scotty Rodgers, was deeply impacted by this
case. Many of these individuals gave heartbreaking victim impact evidence about how this crash has affected
them and about these victims.

The facts of this case are as follows: at approximately 5:37 a.m. on August 24, 2021, the defendant was driving
a Chevy Equinox northbound on I-95 in the general purpose lanes, approaching N.W. 183 rd Street in Miami-
Dade County, Florida. He then was observed to stop his vehicle, and make a U-turn to driver southbound in the
HOV lane. He then went up onto the flyover, where Mr. Wellington Rivera was driving with his co-worker, Ed
Gonzalez, in a Subaru Outback in furtherance of their jobs. A head-on crash ensued because there was no way
for Mr. Rivera to avoid the defendant’s vehicle. Mr. Rivera’s car went over the wall of the flyover and came to
land upside down about 85 feet below. Good Samaritans were able to pull Mr. Gonzalez from the passenger’s
side of the car. Mr. Gonzalez was conscious but extremely badly injured with multiple fractures to his body and
other injuries so severe it was uncertain if he could survive. He has been hospitalized for literall months over the
course of his recovery due to the injuries sustained in the crash.

Unfortunately, Mr. Rivera did not survive the injuries he sustained in the crash and subsequent fall of his
vehicle. The medical examiner ruled that the cause of death was vehicular crash injuries. Fortunately, the
autopsy results did not indicate that there was soot in Mr. Rivera’s lungs, indicating that he did not perish as a
result of the fire that engulfed his vehicle after the crash.
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Officers who encountered the defendant and his vehicle (which was still on the flyover) noticed that he
appeared to be under the influence of alcohol to the extent his normal faculties were impaired. The defendant
gave consent for his blood to be tested by a toxicology laboratory. The toxicology results showed that the BAC
was .12 for blood drawn at 9:05 a.m., about 3 ½ hours after the crash. Officers at the scene of the crash noted
that the defendant’s vehicle had a distinct odor of marijuana and there was an empty bottle of beer on the
driver’s seat.

At the time of the crash, the defendant’s driving privilege had been revoked due to his prior DUI convictions
from September 21, 2005; October 15, 2013 and December 13, 2013.

The State initially conveyed a plea offer of 20 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation; the defense
countered with an offer of 17 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation. After consulting with the next-
of-kin and surviving victim and lead investigator in this case, a decision was made to accept the offer of 17 years
in prison followed by 10 years of probation. This offer was accepted in recognition of the defendant’s
willingness to admit his guilt, accept responsibility for his actions, and for his agreement to waive his right to
trial and engage in lengthy discovery in order to spare the next-of-kin and surviving victim the difficulty of
protracted litigation and to give certainty and finality to this matter.

At the conclusion of the sentencing hearing, after hearing from the various persons who were affected by this
horrific crash, the defendant gave what appeared to be a sincere, heart-felt apology for his conduct and indicated
that he would try to make something better of his life.
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