Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ronesha Nichole Butler, 32, has been sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by three years of probation, after entering a plea of nolo contendere to DUI manslaughter.

Butler was arrested on September 10, 2024, and charged with vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter, DUI with injury, and driving with a suspended license in connection with an August 30 head-on crash that killed one of her passengers and injured the other one.

At about 6 p.m. on August 30, Butler was driving a 2020 Toyota Camry southbound on NE Waldo Road, approaching NW 53rd Avenue, when the car hit a utility pole head-on at a high rate of speed. Charles Brautcheck, who was sitting in the rear driver’s side seat, was transported to the hospital under a trauma alert and later died from his injuries. The front seat passenger, who sustained a broken collar bone, reportedly said Butler had been drinking; that passenger said he had argued with Butler and she became angry said she would “kill them.” Moments later, according to the passenger, the car hit the utility pole.

At the hospital, Butler was reportedly “screaming and incoherent”; a blood draw reportedly showed a blood alcohol content of 0.188 g/100mL, which is equivalent to a breath concentration of .172 g/210L, over twice the legal limit.

Butler, who has been held without bail on Judge David Kreider’s order, entered a plea of nolo contendere to a charge of DUI leading to death (DUI manslaughter), with a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison; following her plea, Judge Kreider sentenced her to seven years in prison with credit for 309 days served, followed by three years of probation. Her driver’s license will also be suspended for life.