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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Swerving Ocklawaha woman popped for DUI

Ramona Marie Hammond

An Ocklawaha woman was charged with DUI on Tuesday after she was spotted swerving off the road into the grass multiple times and then into oncoming traffic on County Road 25.

A Marion County sheriff’s detective also observed a silver Toyota Corolla driven by Ramona Marie Hammond, 53, travel more than 3/4 of a mile with its right blinker on. After the vehicle turned onto Bay Road, the detective tried to conduct a traffic stop by turning on the emergency lights in his unmarked car, but Hammond failed to stop for another half-mile or more, according to the sheriff’s office report.

Hammond, who lives at 16410 SE 119th Street, was the only person in the vehicle. The detective immediately smelled the strong odor of alcohol coming from the vehicle and saw Hammond’s eyes were bloodshot and watery. It took several minutes for Hammond to find her purse, which was at her feet in front of the driver’s seat. Asked if she had been drinking that evening, Hammond said no, the report said.

Hammond failed a series of field sobriety exercises administered by a sheriff’s deputy who responded to the scene to assist. She was taken to the Marion County Jail, where she was read the state’s implied consent law but refused to provide a breath sample, according to the report.

Hammond, who was previously convicted of DUI in 1993 in Orange County, was released Wednesday on $10,000 bond. She will appear in Marion County Court on March 3.