{"id":433,"date":"2026-05-25T18:07:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=433"},"modified":"2026-05-25T18:07:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:07:05","slug":"florida-student-texted-family-to-say-she-was-coming-home-and-was-killed-by-drunk-driver-minutes-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=433","title":{"rendered":"Florida student texted family to say she was coming home \u2014 and was killed by drunk driver minutes later"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Florida college student texted her family a final message to say she loved them and would be home soon before she was killed by a drunk driver going the wrong way down the highway.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump vows Iran will never have nukes while mourning 13 servicemembers who\u2019ve died in ongoing war<\/a><\/p>\n

Lauryn Akey, 21, a student at the University of South Florida, sent the heartbreaking last text after getting gas as she drove home from a friend\u2019s wedding in Charlotte County, Fla., in the early hours of May 17, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law & Crime.<\/p>\n

Just minutes later, Dennis Olson, 53, smashed into Akey\u2019s Honda CR-V as he drove his F-150 truck southbound in the northbound lanes of Interstate 75, according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n

Olson later admitted to state troopers he was having a \u201cbad night.\u201d<\/p>\n

The force of the crash sent Akey flying out of her car and she later died at the scene following the collision around 1 a.m.<\/p>\n

A witness said Olson, of Lehigh Acres, was slurring his speech as he was helped from his truck, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.<\/p>\n

He was found to be nearly three times the legal limit, with a BAC of 0.222, according to troopers.<\/p>\n

Olson claimed he had only drunk a glass of wine that night and said he was returning from the Sip & Sizzle restaurant in Fort Myers.<\/p>\n

Shortly before he allegedly crashed into Akey, he reportedly injured a woman and two children from Arcadia, Fla., sideswiping their Kia Optima when he first turned into oncoming traffic, according to his arrest affidavit.<\/p>\n

One of the children subsequently required surgery, according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n

Akey had dreams of being a nurse and was due to graduate from the University of South Florida next year with a degree in exercise science, her mother, Melinda Mucho, told FOX13 News.<\/p>\n

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\u201cShe would have done amazing things. Her life was just on the horizon; her life was just getting started with her boyfriend,\u201d Mucho said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was going to graduate next year, and I want everyone to see her and feel that,\u201d the grieving mother said, adding that she had started the hashtag #lovelikelauryn on social media for her loved ones to remember her by.<\/p>\n

Akey\u2019s boyfriend, Garrett Day, shared an emotional tribute to her on social media, including a clip of the couple playing video games, going fishing, and enjoying a road trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cRest in paradise my love, I hope you\u2019re holding your pink fishing pole tight catching every fish you ever wanted to,\u201d wrote Day in an Instagram reel.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cUntil I get to see you again hun,\u201d he added, along with the hashtags #lovelikelauryn and #dontdrinkanddrive.<\/p>\n

Olson is facing charges of vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter and is being held without bond in Charlotte County, reported FOX13 News.<\/p>\n

He has a prior conviction for driving while impaired in Minnesota after reportedly going the wrong way down a road, according to the outlet.<\/p>\n

Read more Married tourists found stabbed to death in crocodile-infested river<\/a><\/p>\n

His next scheduled court date is June 15.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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