Woman sentenced for 2020 DUI death

A Sarasota woman has been sentenced to 11 years and six months for a 2020 traffic fatality in the city. 

Alyssa Raffaele, 52, pleaded no contest on Aug. 14 to DUI manslaughter with failure to render aid. The sentence will be followed by three years of probation. Raffaele has a lifetime driver's license revocation as well as other DUI sanctions.

At 4:29 p.m. Sept. 29, 2020, Sarasota Police responded to a hit-and-run crash at the intersection of South Osprey Avenue and Grove Street, where a man riding a motorized scooter was struck by Raffaele, who was driving an SUV. 

Raffaele did not stop at the scene of the crash. The man was transported to the hospital and later died from his injuries.

At 5:43 p.m., Sarasota police stopped the vehicle matching the description provided by witnesses to the crash, which was driven by Raffaele. Officers conducted field sobriety exercises and arrested Raffaele for DUI. According to a breath analysis at Sarasota County Jail, her blood alcohol level was 0.294%, nearly four times the legal limit.