Family frustrated at no arrest in Casselberry crash that killed 2 moms

Casselberry police await blood-test results

CASSELBERRY, Fla. – A family is pleading for justice after two Central Florida mothers were killed in a head-on crash last month.

Casselberry police said a Winter Park man was driving the wrong way on State Road 436 and Lake Howell Lane when he hit the women head-on.

[RELATED: 911 calls released in fatal head-on crash]

One month after the tragedy, the driver has not been arrested or charged, creating frustration for the family.

The Casselberry Police Department said the accident happened at 2:30 a.m. after a vehicle driven by Terry Wayne Dinkins, 64, of Winter Park, traveling south on SR 436 somehow crossed into the northbound lanes at the Lake Howell intersection, where he crashed head-on into a car traveling northbound.

The driver, Brandi Cole, 39, was killed on impact and the passenger, Sylvia Barajas, 32, passed away at the Winter Park Hospital.

"We got that call, the call that you think you'll never get," said Kathy Cole, Brandi Cole's sister-in-law.

Brandi Cole was the mother of four children. Family members described her as a woman dedicated to her children. The youngest child was 15 years old.

"It doesn't feel like it's been a month, it feels like it's just happening," Kathy Cole told Local 6.

At the time of the crash, police said that speed was not a factor, but they did draw a blood sample from Dinkins in his hospital bed to check for alcohol levels, if any. He hit his head and was disoriented. He was unaware that he was in a crash or that the accident killed two women, police said.

Still, a month later, Casselberry police said they are waiting on those results. A breath test was not administered at the time of the crash, police said.

"I know a lot of people out there think, 'Hey, this stuff can't happen to us,' but it's real and it can happen," said Kathy Cole.

Family and friends honored the mothers' lives with a makeshift memorial Friday at the scene of the crash. As it grows a month later, so does the frustration.

Casselberry police told Local 6 the blood results are imperative to building and presenting a solid case that can be successfully prosecuted.

"Even when we get the answers, it's not going to bring her back, but we can understand a little bit better," said Kathy Cole.


Recommended Videos