Singer DaniLeigh has avoided jail in her DUI hit-and-run case. More than eight months after the musician, whose real name is Danielle Curiel, was arrested in Miami Beach, Florida in May 2023 after she reportedly struck a man on a moped, a Miami-Dade County judge sentenced her to five years probation on Feb. 1, according to Miami Dade County court records reviewed by The Shade Room.
DaniLeigh’s probation was reportedly set to begin the same day as her sentencing and will continue until January 31, 2029. It is unclear if the singer received any other probation conditions. According to The Shade Room, she was represented in court by Michael Catalano.
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The sentencing came after the singer was taken into custody around 8:15 a.m. on May 30, 2023 at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center near Miami International Airport. According to a police report obtained by TMZ and PEOPLE, several witnesses claimed to have seen DaniLeigh driving a gray Mercedes-Benz with a passenger recklessly and at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was allegedly seen swerving in and out of lanes before it struck a motorist on a moped and did not stop, dragging the moped for about a block. Somebody eventually flagged down a police officer, who then initiated a stop.
The officer who conducted the stop said they smelled alcohol from the vehicle and noted that the singer’s “motor skills were sluggish.” An empty bottle of tequila was found in the vehicle. Both DaniLeigh and the passenger were detained with hand restraints, and the musician reportedly told cops that “she never hit a motorist” and had not “consumed any alcoholic beverages.” She ultimately agreed to a field sobriety test, which she failed, and was arrested. The victim, meanwhile, was taken to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, where, according to the Daily Mail, he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, including a kidney laceration and a spinal fracture.
Speaking to XXL Mag about the case, the singer’s defense attorney said DaniLeigh “wasn’t really at fault in the accident and she didn’t know she somebody, but there was damage to the car.” He added that while his client “wants to say, ‘I’m really sorry about this,’ but [the victim] has a lawyer and we never let people talk because it can be held against them. The truth of the matter is, the gentlemen who got hurt, was at fault in the accident. She’s very apologetic about it and feels horrible that somebody got hurt.”
DaniLeigh was initially booked on three felony charges – driving under the influence, leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury, and DUI damage to property. According to documents obtained by XXL, she pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge as well as one count of DUI causing serious injury, which is a felony. The two other charges – leaving the scene of a crime and an additional DUI charge – were adjourned in contemplation of dismissal. The outlet reports they will be dismissed if the singer completes her five years of probation without any violations.
