Left: Lauryn Akey (Griffith-Cline Funeral Home). Right: Dennis Olson (Charlotte County Jail).
A 53-year-old Florida man allegedly hit and killed a 21-year-old woman when he was driving the wrong way down the highway during what he described as a “bad” night.
Dennis Olson stands accused of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in the death of Lauryn Akey. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, Olson drove a Ford F-150 south on the northbound lanes of I-75 near mile marker 149 in Charlotte County shortly after 1 a.m. May 17.
Olson first sideswiped a Kia Optima and continued traveling the wrong way, troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol said. He then collided head-on with Akey”s Honda CR-V, the affidavit stated. Akey was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead on scene.
A witness helped Olson out of his truck and noted he had slurred speech, troopers wrote. Troopers spoke with Olson on scene, and he allegedly admitted to being behind the wheel of the truck and said he was having a “bad” night. He said he was coming from “Sip & Sizzle” in Fort Myers where he claimed he had one glass of wine.
Authorities drew his blood which showed he had a BAC of 0.222, nearly three times the legal limit. After his release from the hospital, cops took him to the Charlotte County Jail where he remains without bond.
Akey’s family said she was coming home from attending a wedding. She had just bought gas and texted family members she loved them and that she was almost home. Moments later, she was dead.
Her mother, Melinda Mucho, told reporters her daughter was set to graduate from the University of South Florida next year with a degree in exercise science. She wanted to become a nurse.
“She would have done amazing things,” Mucho said. “Her life was just on the horizon; her life was just getting started with her boyfriend. She was going to graduate next year, and I want everyone to see her and feel that.”
Akey’s friends started the hashtag #lovelikelauryn on social media to honor her memory.
“You can look her up and see how loved she is. I just want everyone to feel that,” Mucho said. “You can feel it by looking at her smile. I want everyone to see her and be like her. She was never mean to anybody. She brought people together, so many people together. Loved hard, loved so hard.”
Olson reportedly has a previous drunk driving conviction in Minnesota, where he also drove the wrong way down a road. His next court date in the Florida case is June 15.
