A Florida family received the last message they would ever get from their 21-year-old daughter on the night of May 17.
Moments after stopping for gas, Lauryn Akey typed out a text to her loved ones saying she loved them and would be home shortly. She never made it.
Dennis Lee Olson, 53, was arrested after a crash that occurred at approximately 1:09 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-75 near mile marker 149 in Charlotte County.
Florida Highway Patrol says Olson drove his pickup south in the northbound lanes of I-75 near mile marker 150 around 1 a.m. Sunday. Surveillance footage obtained by authorities captured what happened next.
Florida Highway Patrol released video that troopers say shows Olson making an improper U-turn and traveling the wrong way down I-75 moments before the deadly crash.
Olson first sideswiped a Kia Optima and continued traveling the wrong way. He then collided head-on with Akey’s Honda CR-V.
Akey was ejected from her vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
The violence of the crash did not end with Akey. The crash also seriously injured a woman and two children from Arcadia in a separate vehicle, leaving one child requiring surgery.
Witnesses at the scene immediately flagged down help. A witness identified Olson as the driver of the Ford F-150 and told investigators Olson was sitting behind the wheel immediately after the crash and had slurred speech.
When troopers approached Olson, he admitted to driving but told investigators he was having a “bad night.”
Olson told investigators he remembered coming from “Sip & Sizzle,” having one glass of wine, and driving his truck home. He said he did not remember the crash.
Blood draws told a different story. A hospital blood alcohol test showed Olson’s blood alcohol content was .222.
The report also states Olson later provided breath samples of .087 and .079 at the Charlotte County Jail, nearly six hours after the crash.
Olson reportedly has a previous drunk driving conviction in Minnesota, where he also drove the wrong way down a road.
Akey had been a straight-A student at USF, one year away from earning her degree and pursuing her goal of becoming a nurse. Her mother, Melinda Mucho, described a daughter full of promise according to FOX13 News.
“She would have done amazing things. Her life was just on the horizon; her life was just getting started with her boyfriend. She was going to graduate next year, and I want everyone to see her and feel that,” Mucho said.
Mucho also spoke about the character her daughter carried through life.
“You can feel it by looking at her smile. I want everyone to see her and be like her. She was never mean to anybody. She brought people together, so many people together.”
Akey’s boyfriend, Garrett Day, posted a tribute on Instagram featuring the couple fishing, gaming, and taking road trips.
“Rest in paradise my love, I hope you’re holding your pink fishing pole tight catching every fish you ever wanted to,” Day wrote, closing with the hashtags #LoveLikeLauryn and #DontDrinkAndDrive.
Akey’s friends started the hashtag #LoveLikeLauryn on social media to honor her memory. The movement has grown rapidly, drawing tributes from people across Florida and beyond who never met her.
Olson told the judge he lost his job since the crash and can no longer afford an attorney. A public defender was assigned to represent him.
Olson is being held without bond in Charlotte County on charges including DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. His arraignment is set for June 15.
