GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Shateria Sierra Glenn, 30, was arrested Tuesday night after authorities say she struck and killed a bicyclist while driving under the influence. She also faces five additional DUI-related charges, including three counts alleging she drove under the influence with children under 18 in the vehicle.
Officers responded at about 8:19 p.m. on September 16 to the intersection of NW 75th Street, also known as Tower Road, and NW 4th Boulevard after a vehicle struck a bicyclist. The bicycle was propelled into oncoming traffic, where a second vehicle hit it and the bicycle became lodged beneath that vehicle.
A Florida Highway Patrol trooper wrote that Alachua County Sheriff’s deputies advised him that the cyclist had suffered critical, life-threatening injuries. The victim was a 68-year-old man. FHP’s crash report lists his address as Fanning Springs, while Glenn’s arrest report identifies him as a Lake City resident. He was described as homeless when he was arrested near Tower Road and Newberry Road in 2015.
According to the trooper, Glenn, who was driving the first vehicle, displayed indicators of impairment, including a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot and watery eyes, and slurred speech. She reportedly struggled to recall her address and her children’s birthdays. Three children were in the vehicle — ages 1 and 3, along with another child whose age was not listed. The FHP crash report states that only the 1-year-old was secured by a child restraint or seatbelt.
Glenn reportedly told investigators that she was traveling south on Tower Road in the inside lane when the bicyclist suddenly entered the roadway. She said she was unable to stop before hitting the cyclist.
She reportedly declined to take part in field sobriety exercises and did not consent to provide a breath, blood, or urine sample.
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After the bicyclist died at the hospital, authorities obtained a warrant for a forced blood draw. The sample was collected at an emergency room before Glenn was taken to jail.
Glenn is charged with DUI causing the death of a human, DUI with property damage, three counts of DUI with a person under 18 in the vehicle, and refusal to submit to DUI testing. Her record includes one non-violent felony conviction and four misdemeanor convictions, one of them violent. She is on probation for a third or subsequent petit theft conviction and has received multiple citations during the past six years for failing to properly restrain a juvenile in a vehicle. Although FHP listed her address as Lake City, Glenn told Court Services that she had been living at Bellamay Grand on Tower Road for about a month.
Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered Glenn held without bail pending a hearing on the State Attorney’s Office motion to keep her detained without bail until trial. If that request is denied, bail will be set at the hearing. The judge also directed the State Attorney’s Office to notify the Department of Children and Families within 24 hours.