ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Orlando woman will spend more than 20 years in prison for causing a crash that killed two people while she was driving drunk.
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Orange County deputies and troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol responded to Lake Underhill Road near Rouse Road just after 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 9 for reports of a collision between two vehicles.
Investigators say 41-year-old Leslie Gehret was headed westbound on Lake Underhill Road in a Jeep Grand Cherokee approaching Rouse Road as an eastbound Kia Soul was traveling eastbound, preparing to make a left turn on a green light at the intersection.
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According to FHP crash investigators, Gehret “disregarded” the red light at the intersection and collided with the Kia, causing it to leave the roadway and roll over multiple times.
The Kia driver, 50-year-old Shane Lloyd, was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead there. A passenger, 19-year-old Jakob Lloyd, died at the crash scene.
Gehret was taken to Advent Health East Hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening.
According to Orange and Osceola County State Attorney Andrew Bain, witnesses reported seeing Gehret’s Jeep speeding and running another red light just before the collision occurred.
Information from an electronic data recorder logged her speed as being between 87 and 94 miles-per-hour at the moment of impact.
Deputies examined Gehret at the hospital and noted she had bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol on her.
After getting a warrant for a sample of Gehret’s blood, testing revealed her blood alcohol content was still beyond the legal limit, five hours after the crash.
Deputies also noted that Gehret was already on probation for a previous DUI arrest and was driving on a suspended license when the crash occurred.
Gehret entered a plea for two counts of DUI manslaughter. She was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to 280 months- or just over 23 years- in prison, followed by 12 months of probation.
Conditions of her probation include DUI Counterattack school, permanent suspension of her driver’s license, a required 50 hours of community service, and payment of court costs.
The victims’ relatives also have the right to restitution.
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A judge also adjudicated Gehret guilty on two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of driving with a suspended license with death or serious injury. The sentences for those charges will be served concurrently with the 23 years from the DUI manslaughter charges.
During a ceremony Tuesday afternoon, University of Central Florida students honored classmates who passed away over the past academic year, including Jakob Lloyd.
Lloyd was in Orlando for orientation with his father when Gehret hit and killed them both.
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