John Jefferson
Left: Maecee Marie Lathers selfie (Instagram). Inset: Maecee Marie Lathers (Miami-Dade Police). Right: Scene of crash in downtown Miami allegedly caused by Lathers on Aug. 10, 2024 that killed 2. (WTVJ/YouTube).
A self-proclaimed social media model who allegedly had her “accelerator at 100%” and was high on “pink cocaine” when she caused a fatal crash in her Mercedes sedan that killed two in Miami, Florida — including the father of a 16-year-old boy — is now facing a raft of new criminal charges more than a week after her arrest.
As Law&Crime reported, Maecee Marie Lathers, 24, of Miami Gardens, was arrested by Miami-Dade Police on Aug. 11 after prosecutors say she drove her Mercedes through a red light on North Miami Avenue at about 7 a.m. on Aug. 10, crashing her car into a Range Rover and causing both vehicles to careen into a silver Suzuki.
Lathers was stopped from leaving the scene of the crash by witnesses and when officers arrived to arrest her, she was vomiting and allegedly admitted to being high on a party drug called “tusi,” according to NBC affiliate WTVJ. Lathers allegedly stated “that she was from the future and had a crystal ball,” police reportedly said.
The National Library of Medicine notes the “tusi,” is a phonetic name for an increasingly popular ketamine-based drug known as “2C.” It often comes in the form of pink powder and thus, is also called “pink cocaine.”
Police reportedly said Lathers, who originally hails from Fort Plain, New York, was driving at 57 mph just seconds before the crash and had her “accelerator at 100%,” causing the speed of her vehicle to reach 78 mph at the moment of the impact.
Insets: Maecee Marie Lathers. Background: The scene of the deadly crash Lathers is accused of causing in Miami (WFOR/YouTube).
Lathers did not have a valid license at the time of the crash, police said. It had been suspended.
A 24-year-old man driving the Range Rover suffered injuries but survived. There were three people inside the Suzuki including driver Abraham Ismael. He had to be extricated from the crash but died at a hospital. A passenger riding in the rear of the Suzuki was killed on impact, police said.
Ismael’s wife Juanita Hernandez said on a GoFundMe page after the crash that she was in the front passenger seat and that they were all on their way to work.
Abraham Ismael, who was killed in a car crash in Florida on Aug. 10, 2024, appears in this undated photo next to his partner Juanita Hernández (GoFundMe).
“Abraham’s son, just 16 years old, has been left without the love and care of his father, who was his whole world. Due to my injuries, I am unable to work at the moment, and the young man’s life has changed radically. His mother, who lives in Nicaragua and suffers from Parkinson’s, is also now grieving, helpless and without the financial support her son provided,” Hernandez wrote.
Lathers was also injured in the crash and received medical treatment.
Florida CBS affiliate WPLG reported that she was initially charged with eight felony counts including two charges of leaving the scene of a crash causing death. At her first hearing before Judge Mindy Glazer on Aug. 16, the jurist told her she was “an absolute danger to the community based on killing two people from her driving when she shouldn’t have been in the car.”
“And if it wasn’t for the citizens or witnesses nearby who stopped her, she would have completely fled,” Glazer said.
On Aug. 22, court records and jail records show prosecutors added new charges to her indictment including two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of reckless driving. All told the 24-year-old faces a dozen charges tied to the crash.
Given that she allegedly appeared to be under the influence at the crash, Judge Glazer agreed to put her on house arrest if she could post a $140,000 bond. She was ordered not to drive as well.
An attorney for Lathers did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.
Her next court appearance is Sept. 3.
Law&Crime’s Jason Kandel contributed to this report.
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