UFC President Dana White gave a speech earlier today regarding the recent death of TapouT founder/owner Charles Lewis Jr. He was killed in a tragic car accident on Wednesday morning. The report acquired by TMZ.com reported that Lewis drove straight into a light pole, destroying his $300,000 USD Ferrari in half.
Snip from Dana White:
“You couldn’t meet a nicer guy, a more friendly, outgoing guy, a more loyal guy. He really was a good person. He’s one of the pioneers, one of the legends of this sport. This guy was selling T-shirts out of the trunk of his car and when we first got involved with the UFC, we met them. We really liked them, we liked their energy. They were good people and we got together and we started doing all this grassroots marketing together – the UFC and Tapout. They were very loyal to us and we were very loyal to them. And it sucks to see a guy who has worked so hard his whole life, to finally make it and break through, and then have something like this happen to him.”
Now, charges by the Orange County District Attorney are being placed against Jeffrey David Kirby who seemed to be in a Porsche racing Lewis during the deadly crash. Apparently, Kirby is a second-time drunken driver who not only is accused of possibly leading ‘Mask’ to his death but he is also accused of injuring his girlfriend who was also involved in the accident.
Snip from mmaweekly.com:
Kirby, 51, of Costa Mesa, Calif., is charged with one felony count of vehicular manslaughter by unlawful act with gross negligence while intoxicated, one felony count of driving under the influence causing bodily injury, and sentencing enhancements for fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter and causing great bodily injury to multiple victims. He has a prior conviction for driving under the influence in 2002.
Kirby faces a maximum sentence of 19 years and eight months in state prison if convicted. He is currently being held on $2 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon in Newport Beach.
After fleeing the scene, Kirby allegedly parked his Porsche on a nearby side street. A responding Newport Beach Police officer spotted the car and saw Kirby and a passenger from his car, 32-year-old Lynn Marie Nabozny, walking away. Both were then apprehended.
Kirby is accused of emitting an odor of alcohol, slurring his speech, and having bloodshot and watery eyes. He was arrested at the scene. At approximately 3:00 a.m., two hours after the crash, Kirby is accused of having a blood alcohol level of 0.13 percent. Nabozny was arrested for public intoxication and later released.
