Driver charged with DUI-manslaughter had a .18 blood-alcohol level

Mary Elizabeth Bailey had an empty bottle of Tito’s Handmade Vodka in the backseat of her Toyota RAV4 and a blood-alcohol content of .18 percent the night she crashed into the rear-end of a motorcycle carrying two people on U.S. 1 near Sugarloaf Key, according to court documents.

That level, more than twice the legal limit in Florida, came from blood drawn under a search warrant more than three hours after the fatal crash Aug. 1 that left Ronalyn Maile Sylvia, 43, dead and her boyfriend Roger Walden, 56, with his right leg crushed.

“Mr. Walden’s lower right leg was crushed and will need pins and plates put in if he is to walk again,” FHP Cpl. David Riso wrote in an affidavit filed at the Monroe County Courthouse.

Bailey, 25, a server in Key West, is due in court Oct. 5 for arraignment on charges of driving under the influence-manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, DUI with a serious injury and two counts of property damage.

On Thursday, Bailey entered a plea of not guilty in the case assigned to Judge Wayne Miller. Bailey, who has hired attorney Richard Fowler, on Friday remained locked up at the county jail on Stock Island on a $310,000 bond.

In the affidavit that led to the arrest, police and several witnesses describe the crash in detail, starting with a silver RAV4 driven by Bailey headed south and approaching mile marker 15 “real fast” and entering the center safety zone as if to pass the motorcycle, Danielle Jensen said.

“The Toyota then moved back into the southbound lane, accelerated and rear-ended the Harley-Davidson,” Jensen said.

Troopers found Bailey on the roadside smelling of alcohol and crying after the 8:43 p.m. crash. But they waited until Sept. 16 to arrest Bailey.

The couple was southbound near mile marker 15 on a Harley-Davidson softtail driven by Walden when struck by Bailey’s SUV about 8:43 p.m. after Bailey tried to pass them while traveling 25 to 30 mph faster than the bike , witnesses told troopers.

Sylvia and Walden were knocked onto the RAV4’s hood and then fell to the pavement and stopped atop the southbound left-turn lane for East Circle Drive. Neither was wearing a helmet, police said.

Meanwhile, Bailey kept driving, the FHP says, pushing the motorcycle with sparks flying until the bike came to a rest outside Baby’s Coffee.

Bailey still didn’t stop, witnesses said, first going around a Dodge Ram pickup — which had scratches on its rear bumper from the Harley being knocked into it — and driving almost a half-mile before stopping her RAV4 on the Saddlebunch Keys Bridge.

Witnesses said they saw the damaged RAV 4 parked on a bridge with a woman shorter than the vehicle outside of it who was “pacing and looked nervous.”

The RAV4’s front seat airbags deployed, the FHP said, and drops of Bailey’s blood were found on them. Bailey had blood on her face when troopers found her.

This story was originally published September 24, 2016 at 9:33 AM with the headline "Driver charged with DUI-manslaughter had a .18 blood-alcohol level."