Key West woman has been sentenced to nine years in Florida State Prison

A Key West woman has been sentenced to nine years in Florida State Prison after pleading guilty to killing a woman while driving drunk.

 

Mary Elizabeth Bailey, 27, admitted to driving under the influence-manslaughter in a crash that caused the death of Ronalyn Maile Sylvia, 43, also of Key West. Bailey also pleaded guilty to DUI-serious bodily injury and two counts of DUI-causing injury to property.

 

Monroe County Court Judge Mark Wilson accepted her plea and sentenced her on May 8. Prison will be followed by four years of drug-offender probation and her driver’s license has been revoked for life. During her first year of probation, she must perform 120 hours of community service in a hospital trauma center. She must perform an additional 50 hours of community service during each of the following three years of probation. Assistant State Attorney Nicholas Trovato represented the state.

 

On August 1, 2016, Bailey was driving a 2004 Toyota RAV4 south near mile marker 15 of U.S. 1. Traveling in front of her on a 1985 Harley-Davidson were Roger Dale Walden, now 58, who was operating the motorcycle, and Sylvia, who was his passenger. A Big Pine Key woman was driving a Dodge Ram pickup in front of Walden and Sylvia. It was about 9:10 p.m.

 

A witness told the Florida Highway Patrol that Bailey was driving erratically and failing to stay in her lane, then struck the motorcycle from behind. Walden and Sylvia were ejected from the Harley, landing on Bailey’s Toyota, and the motorcycle ended up striking the Ram’s bumper. But Bailey kept driving and “continued pushing” the motorcycle “on the pavement and onto the southbound left-turn lane for East Circle Drive,” where Walden and Sylvia fell to the pavement from Bailey’s SUV. Bailey drove another 2,000 feet before stopping, state troopers found. They found her standing outside her auto. An open bottle of vodka was in her vehicle.

 

Sylvia was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Walden was flown to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, where he was treated for a crushed leg and other injuries.

A DUI investigation was initiated and Bailey was found to have a blood alcohol content of .18 g/mL of blood. In Florida, .08 g/mL of blood is considered legally drunk. Bailey was arrested on September 16, 2016.

 

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