Outrage after woman who killed mother-of-three in drunk-driving crash seen smiling in mugshot
A Florida woman involved in a drunk driving crash that killed a 60-year-old mother-of-three has sparked outrage after she was photographed smiling ear-to-ear in her mugshot, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
44-year-old Angenette Welk was arrested last Thursday and charged with driving while under the influence, among many other charges. She crashed her car after 12 pm while driving down US Highway 27 in Marion County when she allegedly failed to hit the brakes in time.
According to WKMG, she hit a Hyundai Elantra that slammed into a tractor-trailer that was standing in front of it.
While 18-year-old Shiyanne Kroll, who was at the wheel, suffered minor injuries, her 60-year-old mother Sandra Clarkson, was seriously injured and died several days later at an Orlando hospital, according to reports.
Welk told state troopers who responded to the scene that she had dropped her phone and moments later, as she looked back up, she was ramming into the car in front of her.
However, she could not complete a field sobriety test successfully after authorities suspected her to be under the influence.
As officers spoke to the driver, they noticed that Welk's eyes were glossy, she was slurring and mumbling her speech and her breath smelled of alcohol.
Cops said that the 44-year-old's blood alcohol level was 0.172, which is twice the legal limit in the United States.
Welk also took a breathalyzer test twice when she was locked up, blowing blood alcohol levels of .172 and .165, according to Villages News. The legal limit for driving in Florida is .08, which is less than half the level Welk blew in her samples.
"Our lives are changed forever. It's definitely wrecked our family forever, not just temporarily, this was a permanent thing that (Welk) did. (I'm) trying to cope with the fact I won't see her walk again, she won't be home when I get home from work or in the mornings when I get home from work.
"I won't be able to talk to her, I won't see her laugh, she won't see me laugh. I can't hug her I can't tell her, "Goodnight, I love you,'"' Kroll's sister Keonna Sciacca told WKMG.
"It's destroyed us," she added.
Although doctors tried their best to save Clarkson, Sciacca said her mother was paralyzed and brain dead after the said crash.
Kroll, who was driving her mother, found it "disgusting" that Welk would smile in her mugshot and so widely.
"That disgusts me and that means she has no remorse for what she did at all and I hope that judge sees that picture and says the same thing," Kroll said.
Sciacca added: "If you are out drinking, there is no reason not to put your keys down and Uber, Lyft. That's all it takes to destroy a family, is one bad decision.”
Authorities reported that they are working with prosecutors to upgrade Welk’s DUI charges to manslaughter. However, Welk posted a $10,000 bond on Friday and was subsequently released.
Keith Zetzer, one of Clarkson's other children said that the entire family is devastated after hearing the tragic news.
“She was a great mom,” Zetzer told the Ocala Star-Banner. “We’re taking the news very hard … Our family is asking for them to prosecute to the fullest extent.”
Authorities informed that Welk was traveling east in her Chevrolet Avalanche on the highway when she hit the Hyundai in which the 60-year-old was sitting. The driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured. He was carrying horses, according to the Ocala Star Banner. Clarkson was a resident of Sarasota.
According to court records, Welk has entered a plea of not guilty. She is originally from Washington state and is the mother of a 19-year-old girl.
Clarkson's bereaved family has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money to cover the funeral service and other expenses.
"On May 14th Sandy was taken off the ventilator surrounded by her two brothers. At 4:53 pm Sandy took her last breath and passed away surrounded by people who loved her. As she would have wanted she is going to be flown to KY to be buried by her mom in a family cemetery," the family wrote on the page.
“Please don't drink and drive,” Zetzer wrote on the page.
Sandra Clarkson is survived by her two daughters and a son.