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.

The lawsuit was filed against Riverview dentist Matthew Moye who has been charged with vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter. He posted bail of nearly $120,000 and was released from jail. Although the dentist refused a blood test, he was subject to a forced blood draw due to the severity of the crash and the suspicion of the crash being alcohol-related.
Barbosa suffered his injuries when leaving work from the Marriott Waterside Hotel just before 2:00 a.m. He and his co-workers were walking on the Harbour Island Bridge towards a parking garage where employees keep their cars. Moye was allegedly coming from a Halloween party when his Cadillac is said to have jumped a curb, crossed into the opposite lane and then jumped a second curb up on to the sidewalk. That was when Barbosa injured himself avoiding the car. His two co-workers, both 24-year-olds, were hit and lost their lives. None of the three people in the Cadillac, including Moye, were injured in the crash.