A Tampa man who has been charged with killing two people in a fatal DUI crash is now facing a DUI civil lawsuit filed by a survivor of the crash. Joao Barbosa jumped out of the way of a car that hit and killed two of his co-workers as they were walking on a sidewalk on the Harbour Island Bridge. He was injured avoiding the car and is suing the driver who has been charged in the deaths.
The DUI lawsuit was filed two days after the October 30 collision. Barbosa’s Tampa civil attorney was quoted on TBO.com that he saw no reason to wait in filing the lawsuit which is seeking $15,000 to cover medical expenses and income he has lost due to injuries suffered avoiding the car. He went on to add that the State wasted no time filling criminal charges so why should he and his client wait to file a civil suit.