A Miami-Dade judge on Thursday refused to release surveillance video that captured NFL player Donte Stallworth's car striking and killing a pedestrian who was crossing the MacArthur Causeway.
Stallworth, 28, is serving 30 days in a Miami-Dade jail after pleading guilty last month to DUI manslaughter in the drunk driving death of Mario Reyes, 59.
Reyes's family members and prosecutors had asked that the video be withheld because its posting on the Internet or broadcast on television would cause emotional trauma, especially for Reyes' 15-year-old daughter.
Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy agreed, saying the video was ''akin to autopsy photos or akin to the depiction of a crime scene,'' which can be restricted by a judge under state law.
Miami-Dade prosecutors say Stallworth's blood alcohol level was .126, well above the legal limit, when his Bentley hit and killed Reyes on the morning of March 14. Sources have said Stallworth's lab tests also showed he had used marijuana.
According to his plea deal, Stallworth must also serve two years of house arrest and eight more on probation. His plea deal does not prohibit him from playing football after he gets out of jail, although, for now, the NFL has suspended him indefinitely.
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