Boris Twillman of Florida has been charged with attempted murder after police say he tailgated a woman in a fit of road rage, hit her rear bumper, and then ran her down with his Jeep after she pulled over to assess the damage, allegedly smiling maniacally as he hit the gas.
Jermeria Holycross was reportedly dragged many feet down U.S. 19 South in Largo, at the intersection with East Bay Drive. She had numerous severe injuries, including a broken pelvis and leg, a broken rib, and multiple lacerations, scratches, and burns to her skin. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the 24-year-old woman’s aunt, Misty Moore, stated that her niece was also undergoing severe psychological stress.
“I think the most memorable thing for her, which she keeps repeating, is that he just smiled and laughed at me while hitting me. Moore remarked, “She is very traumatized and has this image in her head.”
According to an arrest report obtained by Law&Crime, police said the Pinellas Park resident attempted to kill Holycross when he “intentionally hit the victim with his vehicle (a 2016 Jeep Wrangler), pinning her against her vehicle (a 2016 Volkswagen Jetta) and dragging her along the driver side whereby causing her serious bodily injury” and then left the scene of the crash.
The victim stopped her vehicle after believing she was rear-ended by the defendant. Witnesses stated that the [suspect] stopped behind the victim. During medical treatment, the victim told investigators that as she was inspecting the vehicle for damage, the defendant smirked and accelerated toward her. The defendant’s Jeep was eventually recovered at his home, but he had already gone with his girlfriend’s vehicle when the officers arrived, according to the report.
According to police, Twillman called the Largo Police Department after allegedly striking Holycross and told a dispatcher that “something” had happened on U.S. 19 but that “he was not personally involved in a crash.”
“He further detailed that he left his employer at approximately 2:44 p.m. and came home,” according to the investigation. Police cameras captured the defendant’s “vehicle on eastbound Drew Street at Keene Road at 2:51 p.m.”
According to authorities, the defendant’s departure from his employment was captured on surveillance cameras in the region of the crash, which corresponds to travel hours driving that route without stopping.
Following Twillman’s arrest, the Largo Police Department told local Fox station WTVT that Twillman’s actions were “hazardous and reckless.”
WTVT stated that Holycross was in the car with her younger brother and her boyfriend’s two babies. Tammy Holycross, the woman’s mother, told the publication that her daughter claimed she tried to get out of Twillman’s path but he kept tailgating her.
“When he hit the car, she got out because traffic was stopped and she wanted to look at the damages,” according to her. “Well, as she looks, he proceeded to look at her, smile and laugh, and hit the gas and [accelerate] and run her over in front of my son and her boyfriend’s two children.”
Tammy Holycross stated that the children saw the young woman’s face hit the windshield.
“They were shouting and saying that the newborn girl had just been killed. Her face hit the glass, and the kids noticed, and it began to bleed. So that was not a good scene for anyone to see,” she remarked.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to aid with medical expenditures.
According to public court records, Twillman has been on bail since May for felony aggravated battery, battery of a person 69 years or older, and aggravated assault charges stemming from an April incident. He was also charged with possessing a firearm while committing a felony and domestic battery by strangulation. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Twillman’s mother and kid were present at the time of the incident.
Bond was set at $850,000 for attempted murder in the first degree. The bond for leaving the scene of a major injury crash has been set at $125,000.