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STUART - The former owner of a now-shuttered downtown bar was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for leaving the scene of a fatal February 2014 crash he caused while driving drunk. John David White, 40, who was owner of the Key Lime Cafe and Salted Lime in downtown Stuart, was eastbound on Martin Downs Boulevard shortly before 1 a.m. Feb. 22, 2014 when he plowed his Acura MDX into the rear of a Hyundai Accent that was stopped for a red light at Mapp Road, according to facts presented by Assistant State Attorney Ted Roodhof.

The Hyundai was hit with such force it was pushed off the road. It's driver, Philip Harvey Jr., 28 of Stuart, was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead. Police soon found the Acura abandoned a few miles away with damage matching the crash. About an hour later, they found White the registered owner of the Acura MDX whose license had been suspended about a month earlier after an arrest on a DUI charge walking along U.S. 1 in Stuart. Roodhof said too much time elapsed between the crash and when White was found to get a reliable blood-alcohol reading, but arresting officers and others were prepared to testify he was impaired and had been drinking that night.

Citing White's two previous DUI convictions in Colorado and the DUI arrest a month before the crash, Roodhof said, "It was not a question of if Mr. White was going to kill someone, but when."Saying those previous DUI cases were "red flags," Circuit Judge Elizabeth Metzger imposed the 25-year sentence, which the attorneys had agreed on as a cap in negotiating a change of plea, for leaving the scene. She also sentenced White to 15 years, to run concurrently, for the DUI manslaughter charge. Further, his driver's license is revoked for life, he was fined $5,000 plus court costs and a restitution amount to Harvey's parents to be determined later. Harvey's father, Phillip Harvey Sr., said he was delighted with Metzger's decision. He and his wife, Ollie, agreed justice had been served. White, who had been living in the 1000 block of Northwest 15th Street before his arrest, made a tearful, impassioned plea for a shorter sentence.

First, he apologized to Harvey's parents before telling Metzger he has found God, has taken responsibility for his actions and is now dedicated helping others avoid the mistakes he has made. "One thing I'd never done in my life was take ownership of the things I had done," White said. He said he hopes to start a rehab facility or manage a halfway house when he completes his prison term. Michael Zoyes, a former inmate who is a volunteer minister at the Martin County Jail, told Metzger he believes White's remorse is genuine and that in the past year White has "put his own issues side and is trying to help others." White's mother, Anita, asked the judge "not to make the sentence so severe that it denies our son a second chance with his (8-year-old) daughter," whose mother also tearfully pleaded with the judge for leniency.

His attorney, Richard Kibbey of Stuart, argued for a sentence closer to the 12-plus-year bottom of the sentencing guidelines. "He (White) is broken by this," Kibbey told Metzger. "He will carry this as a life sentence no matter what you impose." Though White changed his plea on Friday from not guilty to no contest, he admitted under questioning from Metzger he was guilty of DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident involving death. The latter charge, a first-degree felony, carried a maximum

30-year sentence, while the maximum for DUI manslaughter is 15 years. In exchange for White's plea, Roodhof dropped a charge of driving while license suspended involving death.

Diego Asencio, the North Palm Beach attorney representing the Harveys in their wrongful-death civil suit filed in May against White and other unnamed defendants, said so far White hasn't cooperated or turned over any documents. The Key Lime Cafe and Salted Lime in downtown Stuart closed within weeks of White's arrest on April 1, 2014, but Asencio said he believes White had partners who can also be held liable.