( CNN ) -- His past largely defined by his World Series heroics , Jim Leyritz 's future is now in the hands of a Florida jury that could send him to prison for up to 15 years for hitting and killing a woman while allegedly driving drunk . Opening statements begin Monday in the trial of the former baseball star , who is charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter while driving drunk in a 2007 wreck . A jury of five men and one woman , plus two alternates , has been seated in the case . According to court documents , the incident began as a nighttime celebration for Leyritz , who was ringing in his 44th birthday with friends by bar-hopping in Fort Lauderdale , Florida . While driving a friend home shortly after 3 a.m . ET on December 28 , 2007 , his red 2006 Ford Expedition hit the vehicle of 30-year-old Freida Veitch , a Fort Lauderdale police report stated . She was thrown from her dark green 2000 Mitsubishi Montero , knocked unconscious and pronounced dead at 4:08 a.m . Blood drawn from Leyritz three hours later showed he had 0.14 percent blood alcohol level , above the 0.08 benchmark in Florida . He also failed field sobriety tests , according to police . Veitch was also legally drunk with a 0.18 blood alcohol level and was not wearing her seat belt , according to court documents . In pre-trial court actions , questions have also been raised as to whether Veitch was distracted by calls and texts on her cell phone , how fast she was driving and if her headlights were on . Still , beyond determining if he was legally intoxicated , Leyritz 's fate may be most tied to one key question : whether the light he went through , prior to hitting Veitch , was red or yellow . Based on court documents , defense attorneys are also expected to argue that Veitch was to blame for the accident and there 's little to nothing Leyritz could have done , sober or not . Leyritz and his passenger , Bruce Barger -- a 19-year-old who was with the former baseball star from midnight on and who was getting a ride home -- claim the light was yellow and turned red while Leyritz 's SUV was in the intersection , court documents state . But a pedestrian at the scene , Garth Henry , said it was red even before Leyritz drove through . Leyritz played eleven years in the major leagues , including all or parts of eight seasons with the New York Yankees . His career highlight came in 1996 , when he hit a winning home run in Game 4 of the World Series . He also hit pivotal homers during the 1995 , 1998 and 1999 postseasons . He remained in the limelight after his career ended in 2000 , appearing on national and New York-based radio programs . An outspoken character during and after a career , Leyritz admitted that he 'd used amphetamines in his playing days . After his arrest , the twice-divorced Leyritz told In Session that he lost his job as a sports commentator and an endorsement deal , leaving him to rely on loans from friends and reporters . If convicted , under Florida law , Leyritz faces a minimum of four years and a maximum of 15 years in state prison . In Session 's Beth Karas and Grace Wong contributed to this report .
Opening statements are next week in the vehicular manslaughter trial of Jim Leyritz . He is a well - known former professional baseball player and sports commentator . He is accused of a running a red light while drunk , hitting and killing a woman in Florida . Leyritz claims the light was yellow , and he could not have prevented the accident .