BY KEYONNA SUMMERS

FLORIDA TODAY

Lawyers for Billy Lane, the famed motorcycle builder charged with DUI manslaughter, will next appear in court Sept. 21, more than a year after the accident that left a Melbourne Beach man dead.

At a hearing Friday in Viera, Circuit Judge Meryl Allawas granted a request by Lane’s attorneys, hired earlier this year, to postpone the case until late September while they continue to investigate the charges.

Lane faces 15 years in prison if convicted.

“There’s work that we need to do that is ongoing,” said defense lawyer Robert Berry. “These (types of cases) take whatever time they take, and the court’s always interested in giving people a fair trial, especially with the penalties involved in a case like this.”
Among other things, Berry said the defense wants to arrange a date to inspect the condition of blood samples taken that night.

Assistant State Attorney Tom Brown did not return a call for comment.

Investigators said Lane, 37, had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit last Labor Day when he crossed a double yellow line on State Road A1A south of Melbourne Beach to pass several other vehicles before striking Sebastian Inlet park ranger Gerald Morelock, who was riding a 1983 Yamaha motorcycle.
Morelock’s family has since filed a civil suit against Lane. The next court date in that case is set for 8:45 a.m. Friday in Titusville, court records show.
For the criminal case, Berry said he expects Allawas to schedule a conference in the near future for attorneys to lay out a timetable for gathering evidence.