BRANDON, Fla. — Deputies say that a Florida woman accused of causing a crash while under the influence of drugs tried to convince the victim that it was all a dream.
"It was no accident, you are dreaming," 61-year-old Darlene Bell-Babineaux told the injured victim after she crashed her Mercedes into his vehicle on Thanksgiving morning in Brandon, deputies say.
The head-on collision happened at 2:40 a.m. near the intersection of Heather Lakes Boulevard and Widelake Court. Investigators say that Bell-Babineaux's Mercedes struck the other vehicle at such a high-speed rate, that the vehicle was pushed backward into a tree off the road, splitting the tree and elevating part of the vehicle off the ground.
The driver of the other vehicle had to be transported to the hospital as a trauma alert, with a serious bodily injury to his foot/ankle.
Investigators say that the crash caused an estimated $25,000 in property damage.
According to an arrest report, Bell-Babineaux was stumbling and acting disoriented following the crash. Deputies also wrote that her eyes were bloodshot, she was not wearing any shoes and that she attempted to hide from law enforcement behind bushes.
Investigators say they found a variety of prescription drugs in her car, along with 18 pills that she did not have a prescription for. Deputies say that Bell-Babineaux refused breathalyzer and blood tests.
She was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence with property damage and driving under the influence with serious bodily injury.
