OCALA, FL – Ocala police say a late-night traffic encounter ended in a deadly crash minutes after officers let a pair of brothers drive away despite signs of impairment. The collision killed Eric Derick Maurice McGill, 31, and De Lawn Marshall Duncan, 50, both of Ocala.
Police said the fatal wreck happened about 2:45 a.m. Tuesday at SE Maricamp Road and SE 36th Avenue. Chief Mike Balken called the deaths devastating and preventable, and said the department has opened a full investigation into how the earlier stop was handled.
Body camera video, according to Balken, shows the brothers arguing near a van parked in the roadway before an officer told them they were free to leave. Minutes later, their vehicle struck the victims, who were killed in the crash.
Body camera video shows the roadside encounter before the crash
The chief said officers first noticed the van sitting in the middle of the road and stopped to check on the occupants. In the body camera footage, the brothers can be heard arguing on a sidewalk near the vehicle, with one saying it was his birthday and that they had simply gotten into a dispute.
The officer at the scene then told them, “Y’all are good to go. Y’all can head on out,” according to the video described by police. Balken said the interaction happened only minutes before the brothers were involved in the crash that killed the mother and son.
He said what troubles him most is that officers had just spoken with the men and, in his view, there were clear indications both may have been impaired. Police have not said exactly what signs were observed at the scene beyond the chief’s description of the encounter.
Chief says officers missed a probable DUI investigation
Balken said the department should have investigated a possible DUI and questioned the driver’s level of intoxication before allowing the brothers to leave. Instead, he said, they were permitted to drive away and soon caused the crash.
“There are indications, unfortunately, that both had been drinking earlier in the night and may have been impaired,” the chief said. He added that he could not yet fully explain why the officers failed to act on that concern.
The chief said the case is being treated as a failure to address probable impairment, not as a problem with basic training. That distinction matters to investigators because the department is now looking closely at decision-making during the roadside stop and the steps officers did or did not take.
Officer placed on paid leave as department opens internal review
One officer involved in the initial contact has been placed on paid administrative leave, according to police. Balken said the officer is new to the department and had been out of field training for about 30 days.
Two other officers also responded to the first encounter with the brothers. Police have not released the officers’ names, and they have not said whether any disciplinary action beyond leave is being considered at this stage.
Balken said the department moved quickly to begin a full-scale investigation after the crash. He emphasized that the agency wants to understand exactly how the initial call unfolded and whether any errors in judgment contributed to the deaths.
Victims identified as Ocala mother and son
Police identified the people killed as Eric Derick Maurice McGill, 31, and De Lawn Marshall Duncan, 50, both from Ocala. The chief said he has already met with the family, shown them the body camera footage and offered resources.
He said the family is in shock and that the department owes it to them and to the wider community to address the failures directly. Balken also apologized to the victims’ relatives, saying he was profoundly sorry and wished more had been done to prevent the tragedy.
Police have not released additional details about the victims’ relationship beyond identifying them as mother and son. The department has also not said whether the family has retained a lawyer or made any public statement.
Charges remain pending as investigators sort out what happened
Authorities said charges are pending as the investigation continues. Police have not released the identities of the officers involved, and they have not said whether the brothers face any separate charges connected to the deadly crash.
The two brothers, ages 33 and 24, were taken to a local hospital after the collision, and police said one was listed as a trauma alert. Officials have not said which brother was driving at the time of the crash.
Balken said the department wants to prevent similar mistakes in the future. He said the incident should be handled openly and thoroughly so the families involved and the Ocala community get answers about what happened in the minutes before the fatal wreck.
