Editorial illustration of a red light at night. Not a photograph of the crash scene.
U.S. DUI NEWS · CASE UPDATE Ocala, Florida · November 7, 2026 Ocala, Florida | November 7, 2026 An Ocala officer spoke to two brothers in a van blocking a traffic lane early on September 29. Minutes after police let them leave, a mother and her son were dead. On November 5, WFTV reported a new detail from an arrest affidavit: the driver, Joel Gonzalo Zelaya , 33, had a blood alcohol level of 0.26 after the crash. [ WFTV, Nov. 5: blood test · WFTV: body-camera footage and internal review ] What the cameras caught The officer’s body camera recorded someone in the van saying one of the brothers had drunk too much. Police Chief Mike Balken said the officer should have investigated possible impairment. Separately, passenger Cristian Zelaya later told a detective he had warned his brother Joel against driving, according to the affidavit. [ Ocala Gazette: crash investigation · WFTV: body-camera footage and internal review ] Around 2:45 a.m., DeLawn Marshall Duncan , 50, was turning ...