Student sent heartbreaking text to family just minutes before she was killed by drunk driver
On 17 May, Lauryn Akey was on driving home from a friend’s wedding in Florida when she was killed in a crash at around 1am in Charlotte County.
The 21-year-old was a senior student at the University of South Florida and her family described her as a ‘bright light in the lives of all who knew her’.
Hours after the crash when he had been discharged from the hospital where he’d been taken for his own injuries, Dennis Olson was arrested in connection with the incident.
Just moments after Akey sent a final text to her family, the 53-year-old allegedly smashed into her Honda CR-V when he was driving in the wrong direction on Interstate 75 in a F-150 truck.
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According to the arrest report, she was ‘ejected’ from her car and pronounced dead at the scene.
Olson admitted to police officers that he was having a ‘bad night’ and reportedly claimed he had only drunk a glass of wine that night. The man allegedly told them he was on his way back from the Sip & Sizzle restaurant in Fort Myers.
He allegedly said that he did not have any recollection of the crash.
Police allege that Olson’s blood alcohol content was 0.222. This would put him at nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08.
Akey’s family have said she was on her way back from the wedding when she was killed and had text them.
She told them that she loved them and would be home soon, after she fuelled up her car.
According to online court records, Olson has been charged with one count of negligent manslaughter in DUI causing death and one count of vehicular homicide. He was reportedly pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is reportedly being held without bond.
Akey was due to graduate next year with a degree in exercise science as her mum, Melinda Mucho, told FOX13 News she dreamed of becoming a nurse.
“She would have done amazing things. Her life was just on the horizon; her life was just getting started with her boyfriend,” Mucho said.
In an obituary, Akey’s family say: “Though Lauryn’s time here was far too brief, she made a lasting impact on everyone blessed enough to know and love her. She will be remembered for her bright personality, loving heart, contagious laughter, and the countless beautiful memories she created with family and friends.”
They add: “She was deeply loved and will be profoundly missed every day.
Jess Battison