A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against a Canadian snowbird who ran down an elderly Stonecrest couple at a grocery store in The Villages.
Part-time resident of The Villages Wilfred Maybee, 89, on the afternoon of April 9 had been at the wheel of a 2017 Lexus RX 350 that struck 83-year-old Edwin Mann and 84-year-old Marilyn Mann when they were in the marked crosswalk of the Winn-Dixie on Bichara Boulevard in Spanish Springs. She died that night at Ocala Regional Medical Center. Her husband died there two days later.
The couple’s three children have filed a lawsuit against Maybee and Auto Club Insurance Company of Florida.
In the lawsuit, family members claim that they incurred funeral and burial expenses, medical expenses and pain and suffering. In addition, one of the children “is 100 percent disabled” and relied on the parents as his caretaker. His sisters live in Largo, Fla. and Oak Ridge, Tenn.
They also claim that Maybee struck their parents “and continued to drive away until he lost control of his vehicle approximately 100 yards from the crash site and drove into a building.”
Maybee later offered a plea in absentia in Lake County Court to a charge of driving on an expired license (of less than six months.) The Collingwood, Ontario resident was fined $116 and ordered to pay $100 in prosecution costs, according to a plea agreement.
At the time of the crash, Maybee owned a home in the Rio Grande Villas which he purchased in 2010 for $159,000. He sold the courtyard villa this past May for $279,129.
The Manns were covered by Auto Club Insurance Company and had a policy which “included coverage for underinsured/uninsured” motorists.”
The Manns, who were together for 65 years, were remembered as follows in their obituary:
Eddie and Marilyn spent their lives moving around the country, making friends and a home for their three children and a consistent menagerie of animals. Whether it was on the sailboat, the tennis court, in the pool, or playing board games in the den, Eddie and Marilyn kept an active family life. When they retired to Florida in 1999, they made many new friends as pioneers in their growing community of Stonecrest, creating a beautiful life for themselves and everyone around them. They enjoyed traveling, sailing, dancing, and loved to entertain friends and family who came to visit with grilling, swimming, and the sights of Florida.