A husband who was bicycling with his wife last year when they were hit by an 89-year-old Villager’s Mercedes, fears the hit-and-run suspect is still driving in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Marilyn Jean Hamilton of the Village of Fernandina is facing two felony counts of hit-and-run following her arrest in the Oct. 30 crash that left 60-year-old Jessica Laube of the Village of Dunedin with a serious head injury. Her husband, 68-year-old Robert Hunter had been riding with her on Morse Boulevard and also was struck by Hamilton’s white Mercedes.
“Bob is most immediately concerned that Hamilton is still out free, apparently driving in spite of the fact that she was unable to see two bike riders on a sunny day just before lunch who were wearing bright clothing with bright orange and yellow helmets, with four total rear facing 120 lumen flashing lights,” the Sumter Landing Bicycle Club reported in its Sunday newsletter.
Hunter and Laube were both active members of the club, whose members have been paying close attention to this case and have made their strong feelings known to the prosecutor’s office.
The couple and club members remain frustrated as the case continues to drag out in court. Hamilton remains free on bond. Her next court date is in August.
The Michigan native reportedly got out of the car, saw the crumpled cyclists on the roadway, got back in the Mercedes and drove away. Her car sustained damage to the front and windshield. She was arrested after seeking repairs at a Mercedes dealership in Gainesville.
Hunter was not as severely injured as his wife who “was thrown up on the hood, broke the windshield, fell off the hood, and broke 17 ribs, knocked unconscious, suffering a severe traumatic brain injury requiring a life flight and a 26 day hospitalization,” the club newsletter reported.
The yoga instructor is coping with “constant pain, anxiety, hearing loss, inability to exercise and constant fatigue are just a few of the litany of maladies she struggles with on a daily basis,” according to the cycling newsletter.