Florida officer let an impaired driver go. Minutes later, that driver killed a mom and son, chief says

A mother and her son were killed on Tuesday in Florida after being hit by a driver who was allowed on the road despite showing signs of impairment just minutes prior.

They were identified by the police department as Eric Derick Maurice McGill, 31, and De Lawn Marshall Duncan, 50.


Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken said the department has taken immediate steps to launch a full-scale investigation into the crash, which he described as  devastating  and preventable.

The crash happened around 2:45 a.m. in Ocala, Florida, police said.

'Y'all are good to go, Y'all can head on out'

Ocala Police Deapartment

The chief said what's  troubling  is that the lead officer had just interacted with the driver and his brother, who the chief said were no doubt impaired.

 There's no way to sugarcoat this,  he said.

Police body camera footage shows the two brothers arguing on a sidewalk near their van, which was parked in the middle of the road.

 It's his birthday, it's his birthday ... we just beef, bro,  the brothers can be heard saying.



An officer saw that the van was in the middle of the road and had stopped to see why.

 Y'all are good to go. Y'all can head on out,  the officer says in the bodycam footage.

Minutes later, the chief says the brothers were involved in the crash that killed a 50-year-old mother and her 31-year-old son.

The police officer has been placed on paid administrative leave.



The brothers, aged 33 and 24, were taken to a local hospital, one of whom was listed as a trauma alert, according to police.

 There are indications, unfortunately, that both had been drinking earlier in the night and may have been impaired,  Balken said.  Unfortunately, and really for reasons I can't fully yet explain, the officers failed to investigate a possible DUI or even question the driver's level of intoxication. Instead, the brothers were allowed to drive away, and within minutes their vehicle struck and killed our victims. 

New to the department

Balken said the officer in

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