An Ocala driver, who soiled her pants and registered a blood alcohol content level above the legal limit, is facing a charge of manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol after admitting to fatally rear-ending a 22-year-old mother’s motorcycle on Interstate 75.
Melinda Yvonne Dillon, 35, was arrested in the early morning hours of Sunday, March 22, in connection with an accident that claimed the life of Jasmine Brown.
According to an arrest report released by the Florida Highway Patrol, a corporal was dispatched to investigate the crash at just before 9:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Upon arrival, that corporal made contact with Dillon, who was seated in the front right passenger seat of her vehicle. After the corporal introduced himself and asked Dillon to describe the crash, the report notes that he noticed a “strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from” Dillon’s breath.
“Melinda had slurred speech and watery eyes, and I observed that she had urinated in her pants,” reads the corporal’s report.
Dillon told the corporal that she was en route to Marion Oaks to pick up her son while she was driving in the outside, southbound lane of I-75. She told the corporal that around mile marker 349, she struck the motorcycle being driven by Brown.
According to Dillon, Brown fell from the motorcycle and came to rest on the roadway. Dillon told the corporal that she immediately pulled over and exited the vehicle to check on Brown.
Brown was unresponsive and was struck by another vehicle, according to Dillon.
During an interview with the corporal, Dillon explained that she had left a party in Ocala where she had been drinking since 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 21.
During a field sobriety test conducted at a rest area on I-75, the corporal noted that Dillon “performed poorly,” that her “normal faculties were impaired,” and that she had been “driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” according to the report.
Brown was pronounced deceased by a doctor at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital at 10:02 p.m.
According to Marion County Jail records, Dillon was booked at approximately 3:02 a.m. on Sunday, March 22. While she was at the jail, she provided two breath samples for the purposes of determining her breath alcohol content.
According to the arrest report, those samples provided results of 0.093 g/210L and 0.085 g/210L. The legal limit in the state of Florida is 0.08 g/210L.
Jail records show that Dillon is currently charged with vehicle manslaughter while driving under the influence and DUI damage to property or persons. She is currently being held on no bond.
Brown leaves behind two young daughters, Iris and Lilly. Family members described her as a kind and compassionate mother who “loved the bike community” and “knew how to light up a fire in anyone’s heart.”
A GoFundMe has been established on behalf of Jasmine Brown’s family. Consider making a donation.
Brown’s death came within one hour of the death of another motorcyclist who lived in Ocala. In that instance, Krystal Tison was tragically killed while traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 19 in Citrus County.
Less than 24 hours after those fatal accidents, 36-year-old Anthony Michael MacAllister was killed after a sport utility vehicle turned into his path in Ocklawaha.