LAKELAND, Fla. — The Lakeland Police Department satisfied a month-old warrant Tuesday night for a woman who killed another woman in 2023 while driving drunk, according to a news release.
One night in June 2023, Ashley Melo, 23, was driving a blue Honda Civic southbound on Harden Boulevard near St. Paul Lutheran Church and School when she collided with 60-year-old Theresa Curtis’ white Jeep, police said.
Melo reportedly swerved into Curtis’ lane as she was headed north.
Emergency crews arrived and performed life-saving measures. Officers said Melo suffered “incapacitating injuries” while Curtis died from her injuries a month later at Lakeland Regional Health.
Investigators say Melo was driving more than 40 miles per hour above the speed limit and had a blood alcohol level twice the legal amount.
Melo is charged with DUI .15 or higher, DUI and property damage, and DUI manslaughter. She was booked in Berkeley County Jail in South Carolina on Tuesday night.
