John Jefferson
Inset: Maecee Marie Lathers (Instagram). Background: Scene of the crash in downtown Miami allegedly caused by Lathers on Aug. 10, 2024, that killed two. (WTVJ/YouTube).
A self-proclaimed social media model accused of being high on “pink cocaine” when she caused a high-speed crash that killed two in Miami is on house arrest with a GPS tracker after posting $26,000 bond.
Maecee Marie Lathers, 24, posted bail and entered a not-guilty plea to charges of vehicular homicide, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license and leaving the scene of a crash, court and jail records show.
She’s accused of driving 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. 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 that “tusi” is a phonetic name for an increasingly popular ketamine-based drug called “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.
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’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.
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.
Her next court appearance is Sept. 3.
Brandi Buchman contributed to this report.
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