Man said he took meth daily and hated traffic in front of him. Here's the deadly result.
An arrest has been made in the traffic death of an elderly woman earlier this year.
Jonathan Ryan Cuppels was taken into custody on Oct. 27 and charged with vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter. A judge signed the arrest warrant on Oct. 26.
The 38-year-old man was booked into the county jail at 7:37 p.m. Oct. 27 and released at 10:54 p.m. after posting a $60,000 bond, according to jail records.
Court documents show the Fruitland Park man has been adjudicated guilty for more than a half dozen driving infractions and has two criminal convictions. Some of the traffic offenses include careless driving and driving while license suspended unknowingly. The criminal charges were grand theft and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Cuppels could not be reached for comment.
The wreck was assigned to the Florida Highway Patrol's FLAIR unit. FLAIR is short for Florida Investigation Advance Reconstruction; it is a group that investigates special crashes.
FHP report
In his report, Traffic Homicide Investigator S.R. Lattinville said the crash occurred on the afternoon of March 6 at Southeast 92nd Loop and Baseline Road. The vehicles involved were an older model Subaru Forester SUV and an older model Toyota Camry.
Lattinville said a sheriff's deputy, James Burgess, was driving an unmarked vehicle westbound in the right lane on 92nd Loop when he noticed a vehicle was speeding behind him in the left lane. The deputy turned on his emergency lights (no siren) so the vehicle would slow down. The driver ignored the deputy's warning and drove by him, the report noted.
Burgess tried to catch the vehicle and again turned on the emergency lights with no siren. With the driver not slowing down, the deputy turned off the emergency lights as the speeding vehicle approached Baseline Road, the FHP official said. Burgess believed the vehicle, identified as the Subaru, was traveling far faster than the 50 mph posted speed limit.
The deputy said the Toyota was in the left southbound lane on Baseline Road. Burgess said the Toyota had a green light and the SUV went through the red light at 92nd Loop.
The vehicles collided at the intersection. Upon impact, the vehicles went in opposite directions. The SUV eventually stopped on Baseline while the Toyota was on the southwest corner of 92nd Loop.
Cupples interview
A woman and two men identified Cuppels as the SUV driver. They, along with the deputy, said Cupples was speeding. Burgess said Cuppels was behind the wheel of the SUV.
The woman told law enforcement officials that Cuppels was twitching and shaking when he got out of the SUV. Burgess and two FHP troopers, Richard Crawford and Gabriel Keyes, who are drug recognition experts (DREs), felt Cuppels was under the influence, according to the arrest report.
Two paramedics who responded to the crash also said Cuppels appeared to be impaired.
Cuppels was interviewed by Crawford and he told the trooper he eats methamphetamine because the effects last longer. He said he uses meth daily, has been taking the drug for five years, and had used it earlier in the day.
The man admitted to driving the SUV and said he doesn't like traffic in front of him. He said he was driving 65 mph. Officials said the posted speed limit on Baseline Road is 45 mph.
Victim identification
The victim was identified as 81-year-old Carole Lanzer of Summerfield.
Keyes obtained a search warrant for a sample of Cuppels' blood. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement tested the blood, which turned out to be negative for alcohol but positive for drugs, the report noted.
Related story: 'A sad reminder why she's not with us': Son reacts to arrest in mom's death
A University of Florida forensic toxicologist examined the results and determined that meth had caused impairment, the report said.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Man charged with crash that killed Summerfield woman, 81
