[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 06/23/20]
ALTOONA, Florida — A Grand Island woman has been charged with DUI manslaughter stemming from a March 2019 crash on State Road 19 in Altoona.
Samantha Marie Monroe, who was 19 at the time of the crash, is accused of driving drunk and killing Dallis Brooke Hunter, 22, of Fruitland Park around 6 p.m. March 28, 2019. According to a Florida Highway Patrol crash report, Monroe was driving a 2003 Ford Taurus northbound on State Road 19 about a half a mile from County Road 445 when she lost control, rotated counterclockwise, left the roadway and struck several trees separating the engine block from the car. Monroe was trapped behind the steering wheel and Hunter was partially ejected. Hunter was pronounced dead on the scene; neither woman was wearing a seatbelt.
Monroe was transported to Central Florida Regional Medical Center and witnesses told FHP Monroe had alcohol on her breath. FHP obtained medical blood and she was found to have a BAC of .12, over Florida’s legal limit of .08, according to an arrest report. Monroe was arrested Friday in the parking lot of the Lake County Jail and charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and driving while license suspended causing death. She was released on $20,000 bond less than an hour later.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
