DELAND — The woman accused of crashing her pickup into a beach tollbooth, killing the attendant, in Daytona Beach Shores said she had a “buzz” after leaving a bar before the crash, according to prosecutors seeking to keep her locked up while her case moves through the legal system.
Deanna Harrell, 35, of Ormond Beach, was charged in the June 1 crash that killed Tammie Jo Baker, of Daytona Beach.
Videos show a pickup truck smashing into the tollbooth on the Dunlawton ramp and then continuing into the surf until the damaged truck is stopped by the surf. Videos also captured the truck speeding over the Dunlawton Bridge at about 12:38 p.m. before smashing into the booth, the motion states.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office arrested Harrell on June 3 and charged her vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter, both second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 year in prison.
Harrell appeared via Zoom before Circuit Judge Bryan Feigenbaum in the courtroom at the Volusia County Branch Jail on June 4. Feigenbaum ordered her held without bond.
The judge noted that prosecutors had filed a motion for pretrial detention.
“There is ample probable cause here and valid grounds for pretrial detention,” Feigenbaum said.
The judge said a pretrial detention hearing will be scheduled before Circuit Judge Leah Case.
Harrell admitted to multiple drinks before fatal tollbooth crash
Assistant State Attorney Ashley McCarthy recounted in her motion that after smashing the tollbooth, Harrell continued driving until stopped by the ocean. Multiple witnesses said Harrell smelled of alcohol and showed signs of impairment when she got out of the pickup , the motion states.
Harrell admitted that she had been drinking Gatorade and vodka from a Gatorade bottle before the crash, the motion states.
Harrell also admitted that she had been drinking rum and Coke at Metz II bar, where she said she knows the drinks are “poured strongly” because she is a regular at the bar, according to the affidavit.
Harrell drank two rum and Cokes and half a shot of alcohol at the bar, the motion states.
Harrell said she had a “buzz” when she left the bar, according to the motion.
She arrived at the bar at 11:08 and left at about 12:14 p.m., according to the motion.
Once she left the bar, a surveillance camera at Longstreet Elementary recorded Harrell’s pickup truck heading south on Peninsula Drive while failing to stay in its lane and crossing over the double yellow lines, forcing multiple vehicles in the opposing lane to slow down or get out of her way, the motion states.
A 911 caller stated that a vehicle “consistent” with Harrell’s had hit a mailbox and then made an illegal U-turn to head south on South Peninsula Drive, the motion stated. Another 911 caller said a vehicle matching the defendant’s and driven by a blond woman consistent with Harrell’s description was making “odd movements,” drifted onto oncoming traffic several times and struck a curb, the motion states.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: No bond for driver in Daytona Beach Shores tollbooth taker’s death
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal | USA TODAY Network
