MS Coast woman vowed to help others after DUI death conviction. She’s in trouble again.
A Harrison County woman was sent to jail and ordered to serve 90 days in drug and alcohol treatment for violating the conditions of her probation after serving time for a felony DUI causing the death of a Long Beach man.
Judge Lisa Dodson issued the order for Kaleigh Ann Dartez, 28, in January after a probation officer reported that Dartez had been arrested on a drunken driving charge after her release from prison. Harrison County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Burrell prosecuted the case.
The DUI arrest in Ocean Springs occurred Nov. 19, 2023, on Bechtel Boulevard, Ocean Springs Police Chief Ryan Lemaire said.
Dartez served about six years of a 13-year sentence for DUI causing the Nov. 14, 2014, death of Zack Whitfield, 21, of Long Beach. Whitfield was a passenger in Dartez’s car when it crashed on Kiln-Delisle Road. She was taken into custody in that case after police found her intoxicated and wandering around a road about 60 feet from the crash scene.
At the DUI death trial, witnesses said Dartez and her passenger and others had been drinking at a Diamondhead bar before the crash. At her trial, her defense attorneys tried unsuccessfully to convince jurors that she was not driving the car when it crossed a center line, over-corrected and landed on its side off the roadway.
Harrison County prosecutors presented evidence at the trial that showed Dartez and Whitfield left the bar together, with Dartez driving her car and Whitfield in the passenger seat.
The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office had also collected the driver and passenger airbags from the wrecked car and submitted them for forensic evaluation. A DNA expert testified that Dartez’s DNA was found on the driver-side airbag, while Whitfield’s DNA was on the passenger-side airbag.
In addition, three medical professionals said Dartez admitted to them she was driving the car when it crashed.
On the night of the crime, investigators obtained a search warrant for Dartez’s blood, and a forensic analysis showed she tested three times the legal blood-alcohol limit to drive.
At her July 2017 sentencing, Dartez apologized for what she had done and said she planned to share her story with young people so they would not drive drunk.
Before violating her probation, Dartez had a history of violating orders from the court.
Before her DUI death trial, the judge revoked her bond after she broke a court-imposed curfew and drank alcohol despite orders not to do so.
Dartez is in custody at the Harrison County jail and is expected to go back before the judge after she completes her court-ordered treatment. The judge could issue additional orders after she returns to court after treatment.
This story was originally published February 1, 2024 at 11:48 AM.
