A driver convicted of drug use in a female motorcyclist’s death has been jailed after another probation violation.
Nickki Sue Busto, 58, of Summerfield was being held without bond this week at the Marion County Jail after violating her probation on a charge of driving under the influence.
Busto tested positive for cocaine use on June 28, according to an affidavit of probation violation on file in Marion County Court. She verbally admitted to her probation counselor that she had used cocaine.
Busto had been placed on probation in the wake of an April 3, 2022 crash in which a Chevrolet minivan she was driving struck and killed 43-year-old Bernadette Daire who was riding a 2019 KTM 790 Duke motorcycle at the intersection of SE 92nd Loop and County Road 25 in Belleview.
Daire, who was driving on a New York driver’s license but had recently relocated to Ocala, was transported to Ocala Regional Medical Center where she was pronounced dead as the result of injuries suffered when she was hit by the minivan, according to an arrest report from the Florida Highway Patrol. Daire had been wearing a helmet, the report noted.
A toxicology report later revealed that Busto had drugs, including cocaine, fentanyl and oxycodone in her system.
There were no witnesses to testify who was at fault in the accident, however Busto was arrested in October on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence.
In January, Busto was placed on probation and ordered not to consume alcohol or use illicit drugs. In addition to the failed drug screen in June, she also tested positive for cocaine on Feb. 16. At the time, Busto told her probation officer she was “distressed over the death of her father,” according to an affidavit on file in court.