Woman charged with vehicular homicide

A woman was charged Tuesday with vehicular homicide, accused of driving recklessly and causing a crash that killed an AutoNation executive.

Elaine May, 50, of Pompano Beach, a married mother of two and a longtime employee at AutoNation, was killed March 20, 2017.

May was driving a daughter in a Nissan Maxima sedan near Lockhart Stadium. As they traveled south along Northwest 15th Avenue, their Nissan was Tboned by an Infiniti G35 sedan driven by Ashley Rivera, 35, of Pompano Beach, according to an arrest report.

A witness told Fort Lauderdale police investigators the Infiniti was speeding along West Commercial Boulevard and did not slow down before running a red light at the intersection.

Investigators later calculated the traffic light had been red for at least six seconds prior to impact and that the Infiniti was traveling between 57 mph and 61 mph in a 45-mph-zone, the arrest report said.

May died at the intersection. Her daughter endured life-threatening injuries including broken ribs and pelvic and back bones, police said.

A year after the crash, Rivera was charged by the State Attorney’s Office and was arrested Wednesday.

During a court hearing Thursday, a defense attorney said the current charges — vehicular homicide; reckless driving with serious bodily injury and reckless driving with personal injury/property damage — are the first against Rivera. She is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and is about to begin a sales job, the lawyer said.

Broward County Judge Kim Theresa Mollica set a $105,100 bond.

At the time of her death, May was described by AutoNation chairman and chief executive officer Mike Jackson as “one of the most beautiful people that you could know . ... she was someone who made a difference every day.”

May worked for more than 18 years for the company and was a manager in corporate real estate services, working on signage and visual displays for new dealerships and those that were renovated.

May was survived by her husband John May — a sand artist whose work has also appeared in marketing materials for the Offerdahl’s Cafe Grill restaurants — and their two teenage daughters, one of whom police said recovered from injuries she sustained in the crash.