Fatal crashes happen every day in the United States. Some of them are wholly avoidable, others aren’t so cut-and-dry. But running from a car crash is entirely avoidable every time. A Florida woman is learning just how seriously police and lawmakers take a fatal hit-and-run. And the “my boyfriend told me to run” excuse isn’t likely to hold up in court. 

A Florida woman slammed her Mercedes-Benz into a Nissan Altima and fled on foot after allegedly listening to her boyfriend

Beverly Yvonne Slaughter was speeding in a Mercedes-Benz S-Class as she approached an intersection on West Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Slaughter, a 25-year-old resident of Opa-locka, Florida, then ran a red light.

Unfortunately for the four occupants in a Nissan Altima, their legal turn “with a solid green signal” put them right in Slaughter’s path. She slammed into the Altima’s side, injuring all aboard.

As if bad decisions moved in packs, Slaughter decided to jump out of the car and make a run for it. She didn’t make it far, though. According to Local 10 News, police quickly caught up with Slaughter as she was “walking extremely discreet between a bushy fence line and a concrete wall” alongside a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant.

If that wasn’t suspect enough, Slaughter reportedly told a Fort Lauderdale police officer that “her boyfriend told her to run away.” As bafflingly silly as that sounds, her actions had very real consequences. 

Slaughter is facing a laundry list of charges for the hit-and-run

Tragically, the crash sent the four occupants of the Nissan Altima to an area hospital. One of the passengers, whose name is not publicly available, died after the wreck.

As a result, the Florida woman is looking at 14 charges, including vehicular homicide and a charge related to the hit-and-run. But she’s also looking at a charge related to her license status.

All this, and she was driving on a suspended license

To make things that much worse, Slaughter’s license was suspended at the time. Not a recent suspension, either.

The Florida woman’s license had been suspended since 2021. That’s right; this good idea machine hasn’t had a legal license since the last “James Bond” film came out. Yikes. With any luck, it’ll be a long time before she gets to drive again.