A self-proclaimed social media star accused of being high on “pink cocaine” when she caused a high-speed crash in Miami that killed two people is now under home arrest with a GPS tracker after posting a $26,000 bond.
Maecee Marie Lathers, 24, posted bond and pleaded not guilty to counts of vehicular homicide, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, and fleeing the scene of an incident, according to court and jail records.
She is accused of driving her Mercedes through a red light on North Miami Avenue around 7 a.m. on August 10, colliding with a Range Rover and smashing into a silver Suzuki.
Witnesses stopped Lathers from leaving the scene of the incident. When authorities arrived to arrest her, she was vomiting and allegedly admitted to being high on a party drug known as “tusi,” according to NBC station WTVJ. According to investigators, Lathers allegedly claimed to be from the future and had a crystal ball.
The National Library of Medicine states that “tusi” is a phonetic term for an increasingly popular ketamine-based medication known as “2C.” It is frequently available in the form of pink powder, earning it the nickname “pink cocaine.”
According to police, Lathers, who is originally from Fort Plain, New York, was traveling at 57 mph just seconds before the incident and had her “accelerator at 100%,” which caused her vehicle to reach 78 mph at the time of impact.
According to authorities, Lathers was driving without a valid license at the time of the incident. It had been suspended.
The 24-year-old man driving the Range Rover sustained injuries but survived. There were three persons inside the Suzuki, including the driver, Abraham Ismael. He had to be extricated from the collision, but he died in the hospital. According to authorities, a passenger in the Suzuki’s rear seat was killed when the vehicle collided.
Juanita Hernandez, Ismael’s wife, stated on a GoFundMe page following the crash that she was in the front passenger seat and that they were all on their way to work.
“Abraham’s 16-year-old son has been left without the love and care of his father, who was his entire universe. Due to my injuries, I am currently unable to work, and the young man’s life has changed dramatically. His mother, who lives in Nicaragua and suffers from Parkinson’s, is also in mourning, powerless, and without the financial support her son provides,” Hernandez wrote.
Lathers was also injured in the incident and got medical attention.
On August 16, at her first hearing before Judge Mindy Glazer, the jurist warned her she was “an absolute danger to the community based on killing two people from her driving when she shouldn’t have been in the car.”
“And if it wasn’t for the citizens or witnesses nearby who stopped her, she would have completely fled,” Mr. Glazer claimed.
Her next court appearance is September 3.