"Wheeler could face disciplinary action if convicted of charge stemming
from car accident.
Published Saturday, February 5, 2005
A Boca Raton attorney charged with driving under the influence with injury
could face disciplinary action if convicted, according to the Florida Bar
Association.
Delray Beach Police said Christopher Wheeler, 58, an attorney with the Boca
Raton law firm of Proskauer Rose LLP, faces a DUI with injury charge
stemming from an accident on Congress Avenue in that city the night of Dec.
15.
“The Fort Lauderdale office of the Bar Association is aware of the accident,”
said Eric Turner, chief branch disciplinary counsel for that office.
The charge, Turner said, is a misdemeanor. The Bar Association will not step
in, he said, unless Wheeler is convicted.
If that happens, the matter will be reviewed and turned over to a grievance
committee to determine if Wheeler should be prosecuted. If so, a complaint
will be filed with the Supreme Court, Eric Turner said.
The police report said Christopher Wheeler’s car struck another vehicle from behind,
causing the other car to roll into a “ditch-type terrain off the shoulder of the
roadway.” The other driver, Prospere Mede, 54, of Boynton Beach, was
trapped in the car and had to be removed by paramedics, police said.
Both Mede and Wheeler were taken to Delray Medical Center for treatment
of injuries.
Documents obtained from Delray Police said Wheeler’s blood alcohol level
was about .2 that night. In Florida, a blood level of .08 or higher can result in
a drunken driving charge.
According to reports, Christopher C Wheeler and his wife, Deanna, had been attending a
party. She was driving behind her husband on their way home.
Police said Wheeler’s car took off “at a high rate of speed” from the traffic
light at 1000 S. Congress Ave. “and struck the vehicle ahead of him.”
Officers who responded said they smelled “an odor of alcoholic beverage” in
the car, and said Wheeler’s speech was “very slurred.”
The report said he willingly submitted to blood alcohol testing.
Wheeler is a prominent attorney in Boca Raton. He works in the corporate
department and is a partner in the Florida office of Proskauer Rose LLP. The
firm’s Web site says he is versed in real estate and corporate law, institutional
lending, administrative law and industrial revenue bond financing.
He is also active in professional, charitable and philanthropic organizations.
He is on the board of trustees of the Boca Raton Community Hospital and the
hospital foundation, serves on the executive committee and board of directors
of the Florida Atlantic University Foundation and is on the Board of the
National Conference for Community and Justice of South Florida.
Both FAU and the hospital declined comment on the charge against Wheeler.
Christopher C Wheeler
Hospital spokeswoman Jamie Oberweger said BRCH does not comment on
the personal matters of its board members.
FAU spokeswoman Kristine McGrath said the university declined comment
because the matter “does not affect the mission of the university.”
Mike Edmondson, spokesman for State Attorney Barry Krischer, said his
boss’s office normally doesn’t get involved with traffic cases. Edmondson
said Wheeler will not receive special treatment because he is a lawyer.
Christopher C Wheeler
The victim in the crash could not be reached for comment. However, his wife
said he is out of the hospital and has returned to work.
Dale M. King
*******
Boca Raton Proskauer Rose lawyer faces DUI charges.
February 3 2005
Drunken driving charges were filed Monday against a prominent
Boca Raton attorney and member of the Florida Atlantic University
Foundation's board of directors, according to a Delray Beach
police report.
Christopher C. Wheeler, 58, was on his way home from Boca
Raton Community Hospital's Christmas ball on Dec. 15th when he
rear-ended a car in the 1000 block of Congress Avenue, the report
said. The crash trapped the other driver inside his car.
When officers arrived, Wheeler,who also is a hospital board
member, smelled of alcohol and spoke with slurred speech, the report said.
According to toxicology results, his blood-alcohol level was
above .2. Driving is illegal at .08 and higher.
Wheeler was charged with driving under the influence with injury.
Christopher C Wheeler
Source
Florida Justice System
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