The woman who was killed when an Ocala man’s car slammed into an Interstate 4 overpass in Polk County last month has been identified. And the Florida Highway Patrol is confirming that alcohol was involved in the single-car incident.
Jerry Lynn Lecompte, 49, of Daytona Beach, died at the scene of the Aug. 29 crash after the car she was riding in, a 2008 Dodge Charger driven by 63-year-old Danny Ray O’Connell, of Ocala, traveled up the embankment of the entrance ramp to County Road 557 and collided with the overpass, a Florida Highway Patrol report states.
The crash had been investigated as a possible alcohol-related incident and Lecompte’s name had been withheld pending notification of next of kin. Now that it’s been determined that alcohol was a factor in the crash, charges against O’Connell are pending, an updated FHP report says.
O’Connell and another passenger in the car, 67-year-old Daniel Carlucci, of Holly Hill, both sustained serious injuries and were transported to Lakeland Regional Hospital. Both O’Connell and Lecompte were wearing their seatbelts, while Carlucci was not, the FHP report says.