10/03/2026
🚨 MOTHER & SON KILLED IN OCALA CRASH — FAMILY DEMANDS ACCOUNTABILITY AFTER OFFICER ALLOWED SUSPECTED IMPAIRED DRIVER TO LEAVE 🚨
A family is preparing to bury De Lawn Marshall Duncan and her 31-year-old son, Eric Derick Maurice McGill, after a horrific crash near SE Maricamp Road and SE 36th Avenue in Ocala.
But serious questions are now being asked about what happened minutes before the deadly collision.
According to Ocala Police, an officer had encountered the vehicle after it was found blocking traffic. Body-camera footage captured someone telling the officer:
“It was my birthday today, and he drank a little bit more than he was supposed to, and I’m just trying to get home.”
Despite that statement and other circumstances observed during the encounter, police say a DUI investigation was not conducted, and the vehicle was allowed to leave.
Minutes later, that vehicle was involved in the collision that killed Duncan and McGill.
Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken has publicly said the officer should have initiated a DUI investigation. The officer has since been placed on paid administrative leave while an internal investigation is conducted.
Chief Balken also contacted the State Attorney’s Office regarding possible criminal charges against the officer. The State Attorney’s Office reviewed the circumstances and determined the officer’s conduct did not rise to the level of a criminal matter.
That does not end the internal investigation or the questions surrounding what happened.
The victims’ family, through their attorneys, says responsibility begins with the decision to drive after drinking — but they also believe the officer’s actions before the crash deserve careful scrutiny and accountability.
Two lives are gone.
A mother. A wife. A sister. A son.
A routine encounter with law enforcement happened only minutes before a collision that permanently changed this family.
Now the family deserves answers about every decision that was made that morning.
A GoFundMe has been established to assist the family with funeral and burial expenses.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-aion-lay-his-wife-and-stepson-to-rest
The Ocala Police Department’s internal investigation remains active, and no final departmental disciplinary decision regarding the officer has been announced.
Accountability means examining the actions of everyone involved — based on the evidence and the facts.
