Naples man charged in fatal DUI wreck had seven other traffic citations

Naples Daily News (FL)

Dec. 14--The Naples man arrested on DUI charges following Saturday's fatal crash that killed a father of four, had one prior arrest in Florida and a handful of traffic infractions here in Collier County.

Rene Miles, 40, was arrested in Miami-Dade County in 1994 on a misdemeanor charge of loitering and prowling. Details on that arrest were not immediately available.

Of his seven traffic citations issued in Collier County since 2006, three were for more serious offenses. In February of 2006, Miles paid a fine for failure to use due care behind the wheel. Then twice in 2009, he was cited for speeding. In March 2009, he was cited for unlawful speed in the city of Naples where officers clocked him going 45 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone along U.S. 41 South. Then in November, he was cited for speeding by deputies who clocked him going 68 miles per hour in a 45 mile per hour zone along Golden Gate Boulevard East.

In both cases, Miles paid a fine.

Miles' other four infractions included failure to display registration, proof of insurance and his driver's license, but all were later dismissed. He paid a $98 fine in 2009 for not wearing his seatbelt.

On Saturday, Miles was involved in his most serious violation yet.

According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Miles was driving east on Golden Gate Boulevard near 27th St Southwest when his 2007 Nissan Pathfinder collided with a car in front of him being driven by Julie Beauplan. Beauplan's 2006 Dodge Durango spun out and careened across the median and into the westbound lanes of Golden Gate Boulevard.

James Riner II, who was driving a 2015 Honda Odyssey in the inside westbound lanes of Golden Gate Boulevard, collided with Beauplan's SUV. His minivan spun and flipped.

Riner, 33, and Beauplan, 41, were taken to Lee Memorial Hospital, where Riner was pronounced dead. Beauplan was listed as having serious injuries but had been discharged as of Monday, according to a hospital spokeswoman. The 13-year-old passenger in Beauplan's vehicle was not injured.

Miles was not injured in the crash, which occurred around 7 p.m. He was arrested on 14 charges, including DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash, and remained in jail as of Monday afternoon. His bond was set at $70,000.

Riner's wife Jessica, 33, was a passenger in the minivan with him and suffered a broken jaw, according to family. According to our news partner NBC-2, Jessica left the hospital to break the news to their children. She said she remembered everything about the crash.

"He told me he loved me and he told me to take care of our bears and he told me he was gonna die, and that was pretty much it. I got to tell him goodbye," she told NBC-2 .

In the meantime, support is pouring in for the Riner family to help them deal with tragedy in the weeks before Christmas. James Riner leaves behind his four sons: Landen, 11; Garrett, 8; Carsen, 6; and Branden, 4.

Money is being raised through a GoFundMe account, which had garnered more than $34,000 as of Monday afternoon toward a goal of $50,000. A separate website is coordinating meal donations for the family through February.

That site, TakeThemAMeal.com, has helped to coordinate breakfasts, lunches and dinners for Jessica Riner, her children and her 18-month-old niece, of whom she is a caretaker.

Naples restaurant Fish Crazy Restaurant, located at 14700 Tamiami Trail North, has offered to donate a dollar from every check from Friday, December 18 after the funeral through Saturday, December 26th to the Riners, general manager James Miller said.

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