EXCLUSIVE: New Video Shows "Party Princess" Hour Before Deadly Crash
MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) - New video obtained by CBS 4 News shows the hour before a hit and run crash claimed the life of a South Beach chef.
The black and white surveillance video captured inside Nikki Beach nightclub show 20-year-old Karlie Tomica as she ends her shift as a bartender on the morning of January 28th.
Tomica is charged with DUI manslaughter in the death of Stefano Riccioletti.
Riccioletti was struck and killed along Collins Ave. and 18th Street in January.
The driver sped away, but a Good Samaritan followed the car to an apartment building almost 40 blocks away.
Tomica was arrested and charged later that day.
In the newly released video, the self-proclaimed "Party Princess" entered the lower level bar at Nikki Beach just before 5 a.m.
At 5:01 a.m., a man wearing a valet shirt handed her a set of keys.
After that, another man went behind the bar and poured a drink. What was in the cup is unknown. It appeared Tomica took a couple of sips before leaving the bar area in a hurry.
Based on video previously released by Nikki Beach, Tomica ran upstairs, jumped over the bar to retrieve something, and then returned to the lower level two minutes later.
She picked up a bag, the same clear backpack found when police searched her belongings.
The video then showed Tomica drop something. When she picked it up, she stumbled before someone helped to steady her.
According to the time-stamp on the video, Tomica left the bar 10 minutes later at about 5:28 a.m.
The crash that killed Riccioletti happened just before 6 a.m.
An attorney for Nikki Beach said video they've looked through does not indicate Tomica was served alcohol on the job, as alleged in a wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Riccioletti's family.
When Tomica was arrested later that day, police say her blood alcohol level was .225, about 3 times the legal limit.
Nikki Beach has said its policy prohibits employees from drinking while on the clock.
It remains unclear whether Tomica possibly drank at work, after work but before the crash, or after the crash but before she was arrested.
We reached out to Tomica's attorney, but he declined to comment because he said he has not seen the video.
An attorney for Nikki Beach said he would review the video before responding.
Tomica remains under house arrest.
