Police Chase through Marion County Ends with Two Dead

Last Friday night, police in Marion County began pursuing the 26-year-old Wildwood resident Jacquard Cuyler as he sped away from the would-be captors in his Volkswagen Jetta. Although the initial reason for the police’s chase of Cuyler is not part of the official report from the Marion County deputies, the results of Cuyler’s reckless and dangerous behavior are well documented in the official report.  

According to this report, Cuyler was driving along Southeast 132 Street Road, in the process of fleeing from the police behind him, when he reached the point where Southeast 132 Street Road and U.S. 301 intersect.  A light located at this intersection regulates the flow of traffic, and as Cuyler approached, the light for Southeast 132 Street Road was red.  Cuyler ignored this fact and attempted to drive through the intersection.

At the same time, an SUV being driven by the 29-year-old Ocala resident Brittany Chmilarski was traveling through the intersection as well.  In the passenger seat of her car was a 57-year-old The Villages resident named Denise Allen.  As Chmilarski was in the process of legally navigating her car through the intersection, Cuyler charged through in his Jetta.  The front of the Jetta collided with the passenger side of the SUV, hurling the second vehicle off of the road and onto the grass shoulder along the side of the intersection.  The Florida Highway Patrol added that in the process of leaving the road, the SUV collided with a third car which had stopped in time to prevent it becoming more fatally involved in the accident.

The collision also forced the Jetta off of the road and onto the shoulder.

Both Chmilarski and Allen were fatally injured in the crash.  Emergency response teams arrived quickly at the accident site, but they were unable to do anything for the two individuals, and both were declared dead at the scene.  Cuyler also suffered serious injuries, although he was able to be transported via ambulance to Ocala Regional Medical.  At the time of this writing his current condition is not clear.

The individuals occupying the third vehicle apparently escaped the entire incident unscathed.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.