JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The woman behind the wheel when she smashed into a pickup truck on the side of the Interstate 295 northbound exit ramp to Interstate 10 and caused a fatal crash Monday was arrested.
According to court records, the 24-year-old has a history of dangerous driving, including several convictions for driving with a suspended license.
According to her Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrest report, Kaylyn Lowdenslager was driving a black Nissan Altima with a suspended license when Florida Highway Patrol troopers said she lost control of her car and smashed into a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that was stopped on the side of the I-295 north exit ramp behind a tractor-trailer.
The 42-year-old pickup truck driver and another man were repairing a tire on the tractor-trailer. The collision caused the pickup truck driver to become pinned between the pickup truck and the tractor-trailer, the report said. He died from his injuries.
Lowdenslager, who was previously convicted of DUI, ran away from the scene after the fatal crash.
“She has completely shown that ability to be a danger to others behind the wheel. And if her driving privileges had been revoked from previous charges, she’s got no business behind the wheel the day this crash occurred,” Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney said.
Witnesses told investigators they saw a woman, whose legs looked like they were injured, driving the black Altima before she ran away from the crash.
As police searched for Lowdenslager, they learned that she sent a Facebook message to the owner of the vehicle she was driving saying the vehicle was “messed up.”
The report said the vehicle’s owner found out about the crash and gave the Florida Highway Patrol Lowdenslager’s name and her possible address, stating that he let Lowdenslager use his car.
Troopers found Lowdenslager at an address, and the report said she had the key fob for the Altima. She was also wearing clothing that matched the witnesses’ description, and she had injuries to her knees, shins and legs.
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At first, Lowdenslager said she was involved in the crash but denied being the driver, but eventually, she emotionally admitted to police that she was behind the wheel, the report said.
The officer also reported signs of impairment, including a “lethargic demeanor, falling asleep during law enforcement interaction, slurred speech, slow and delayed responses to questions regarding the collision events and constricted pupils suggesting impairment by drugs or controlled substances.”
Lowdenslager was arrested. Police said they found 5.9 grams of molly, 8.36 grams of purple powder, which police suspected was carfentanil, and a small bag of white powder substance, which she told police was fentanyl.
Lowdenslager is charged with leaving the scene of a deadly crash, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, driving with a suspended license, and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use.
Police also took a blood analysis, and more charges are pending depending on Lowdenslager’s results.
“When those test results come back, if there are things in her system like she had in her possession, it will highlight the necessity for people that are under the influence to stay from behind the wheel,” Hackney said.
Hackney said this incident upsets a lot of traffic cops.
Throughout the country, numerous officers lose their lives from being struck on the side of the road, doing their job by conducting a traffic stop and getting in and out of their vehicles. You can just google the images and there’s video after video. Some of them are not DUI-related, but this is somebody on the side of the road trying to conduct vehicle maintenance, and then their life is taken.”
Between 2016 and 2018, an average of more than 560 people were killed each year in crashes involving disabled vehicles on the side of the road. Those statistics combined with near misses are what led to the recently amended move-over law in Florida.
Under the law, drivers are required to either switch lanes or slow down when they approach a disabled vehicle displaying hazard lights on the side of the road.