GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – A Gainesville woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison for DUI Manslaughter.
The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) confirmed that 32-year-old Margaret Caitlin Walker was sentenced in connection with a fatal crash involving a University of Florida (UF) student.
The accident occurred in the nighttime hours of November 27, 2022, on S. Main Street.
GPD says that investigations showed that Walker was driving her 2017 Volvo SUV southbound on S. Main Street when she struck the victim, a UF graduate student, on his bicycle.
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Authorities say Walker continued to drive home, failing to stop or report the crash.
The crash report indicates that the impact launched the victim into the nearby woods, where he died from his injuries.
GPD says that vehicle parts at the scene of the crash matched Walker’s vehicle, along with other evidence collected from the crash.
During an interview with detectives, Walker admitted to driving her vehicle to multiple bars and drinking alcohol at each bar the day of the crash.
Detectives say that Walker told them that she felt “tipsy” when she left the last bar to go home and that she thought she had hit a traffic pole that was down in the area.
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