October 8, 2025
PRESS RELEASE
(Walton County, Florida) Ginger Madden, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida, announced today that Judge J. Ryan Love sentenced D’Quinn Butler to 20 years in State Prison including a 3 year minimum mandatory sentence for Aggravated Manslaughter of a Child and Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Law Enforcement Officer in an Agency Vehicle with Siren and Lights Activated, at High Speed, Causing a Death.
On May 31, 2023, Butler was driving on Interstate 10 and passed Florida Highway Patrol Officers who were stopped and monitoring traffic. After passing the officers, Butler began speeding and driving recklessly. Florida Highway Patrol Officers tried to initiate a traffic stop, but Butler refused to stop. Butler fled through traffic at speeds in excess of 115 miles per hour, cutting through other traffic on the road and passing other vehicles on both the left and right shoulders of Interstate 10. He lost control of the Dodge Challenger he was driving, crossed over the median, and crashed his vehicle into a tractor trailer travelling in the opposite direction on the other side of Interstate 10. Butler’s girlfriend, his younger brother, and his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son were all in the car with him that day. Butler’s girlfriend and younger brother were treated for injuries from the crash, but the 4-year-old died in the crash.
Butler’s girlfriend told him to stop while he was fleeing, but he refused and said he couldn’t go back to jail. Butler had a suspended driver’s license and approximately 60 grams of marijuana was recovered from the vehicle. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyst detected THC in Butler’s blood sample obtained after the crash.
The investigation and arrest were conducted by the Florida Highway Patrol. Assistant State Attorney Angela Liles prosecuted the case on behalf of Ginger Bowden Madden, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida. For further information, please contact Ms. Liles at (850) 892-8080.
