Warren firefighter charged in drunk driving death of teen

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - "This poor girl never had a chance,” said Macomb Co. Prosecutor Eric Smith.

This is our first look at crime scene photos taken September 11th by Sterling Heights police. It shows the mangled Mercury Sable in the front. Behind the wheel,17-year-old Diana Pozderca, on her way home to get the surprise of her life, a brand new car.

"She had the terrible misfortune of wrong place wrong time. Tad Dennis of Sterling Heights, a 15 year Warren firefighter, crossed several lanes of traffic doing twice the speed limit and hit her head on,” said Smith.     

Tad Dennis, the off-duty firefighter was driving the SUV in the back of the same photo. Tuesday he appeared in court in a wheelchair via the Sterling Heights jail, charged with murder and operating while intoxicated causing death.

"We charged this for a reason because he deserves to be convicted of murder two,” said Smith.

The prosecutor says this 15 year veteran of the Warren fire department should have known better than to get behind the wheel with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit.

"I have no sympathy whatsoever, so when it comes to bond, every day Mr. Dennis still has the opportunity to hug his family and the Pozderaka family will never see Diana again,” said Smith.

No sympathy from the prosecutor, but his attorney argues due to his current condition he's not a risk of running away.

"He has had numerous surgeries and more scheduled,” said defense attorney Stephen Rabaut.

Despite the serious charges, the judge issued a 500,000 dollar bond, taking into consideration that Dennis is now wheelchair bond.  The hope from the prosecutor’s office is this story will leave a far reaching impact especially during the holiday season.

The two charges of murder and OWI causing death come months after the crash occurred.