DUI Manslaughter Charges for Woman Behind Fatal Marion County Crash

On May 10th, an Ocala woman was behind the wheel of a 2011 Chevrolet Avalon and driving down the eastern lanes of U.S. Highway 27 in Marion County when she collided with the rear of a Hyundai Elantra that was stopped in a line of traffic.  Florida Highway Patrol personnel released a statement about the incident, and since the time of the initial statement some updates to the story have emerged.

We know that it was shortly before 12:00 in the afternoon that the driver of the Avalon approached the stopped traffic.  As she neared the motionless cars, the woman failed to reduce her car’s speed, and this caused her to crash violently into the stopped Elantra.  It is not clear if the driver of the Avalon saw the stopped cars at all or if she simply rammed into the Elantra while still traveling at full speed.

The collision forced the Elantra, which was being driven by an 18-year-old and her 60-year-old mother, into the back of a tractor-trailer.  The injuries sustained by the older woman in the Elantra were critical as a result of the traumatic crash, and when the emergency response teams reached the area they rushed her to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment.  A statement from the daughter indicated that as a result of the collision her mother experienced massive fluid and bleeding inside of her brain resulting in a stroke.  If the woman survived, doctors believed she would be paralyzed as well as severely brain damaged.

After numerous operations, there was nothing more that the medical staff at Orlando Regional Medical Center could do.  The woman passed away several days after the collision.

The driver of the Avalon was given several field sobriety tests at the scene of the crash, all of which she failed.  She claimed to have been searching for her dropped phone when the collision occurred, and the responding officers stated that the she also smelled strongly of alcohol and registered a BAC content of 0.172, more than twice the legal limit.

The initial charges leveled against the Avalon’s driver culminated with a DUI resulting in great bodily harm.  These charges have since been updated to include DUI manslaughter.

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.