A Villager allegedly aimed her speeding Mercedes at a pair of bicyclists she evidently believed did not belong on her street.
Jill Allison Vernon, 58, who lives in a $2.2 million home on Conservation Trail in the Village of Pine Hills, was at the wheel of a white Mercedes convertible shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday when she encountered the male and female bicyclists on her street, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. She was approaching the bicyclists “at a seemingly high rate of speed in the opposite direction.”
The male bicyclist signaled with his hand, trying to persuade Vernon to slow down. She “flipped them off” and yelled profanities at the bicyclists as she passed, the report said.
The female bicyclist was concerned that the Mercedes might reappear, and sure enough “they heard the engine getting louder behind them.” The woman bicyclist looked back and saw the Mercedes approaching at a high rate of speed. The lady cyclist quickly moved to the grass and warned her male companion. The Mercedes passed very close to his leg, forcing him to stop.
Vernon shouted that the bicyclist “don’t live on that street” and they had “no reason to tell her to slow down.” The male bicyclist indicated he was going to obtain the license plate number of the Mercedes, prompting Vernon to pull into a driveway, re-enter the roadway and accelerate backward toward the pair. The bicyclists scuttled into another driveway to avoid being hit. The bicyclists filled out sworn statements for the police.
When an officer showed up at Vernon’s house and tried to place her in handcuffs, she tried to flee into her house. The officer attempted to grab her hand, but she hit a wall and fell to the ground. She continued to try to pull away from the officer. She told him she needed to use the restroom and “soiled her pants.”
Vernon was arrested on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest. She was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $6,000 bond.