FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A 26-year-old woman appeared in Broward County court on Wednesday accused of driving under the influence when she was allegedly involved in a crash that killed a cyclist.
The crash was on the early morning of March 5, along State Road 7, also known as U.S. Highway 441, south of Interstate 595, in Davie, records show.
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Police officers found a man dead on the west side of the roadway, near a mangled bicycle valued at about $200, after a witness called 911 to report a woman driving a white Hyundai Sonata appeared to have struck him, according to the Davie Police Department.
Another police officer reported finding the woman had “passed out” in the driver’s seat and he took a picture. The 2010 Hyundai Sonata had blood stains and “heavy damage” to the front passenger side, according to police.
“Her speech was slurred and her eyes would partially roll back in her head,” according to Officer John Hernandez’s Nov. 14 arrest report adding that she denied having struck the man and said her car damage was unrelated.
Detectives later identified her as Melanie Eleshia Anishka Trapp, of Pembroke Pines. Davie Fire Rescue personnel took her to HCA Florida University Hospital, where a police officer reported hearing her tell a nurse that she had “drank one beer,” according to the police report.
With a search warrant, a detective seized Trapp’s blood from the hospital and a lab toxicology report released in April showed that with a .72 blood alcohol level, Trapp was driving at about nine times above Florida’s legal driving limit, according to Hernandez.
Trapp also tested positive for codeine, an opioid pain reliever, according to the police report. The victim’s autopsy report showed the cyclist had suffered head, back, and chest injuries, and the official cause of death was multiple blunt-force trauma, according to Hernandez.
Detectives also learned in April that the blood on Trapp’s car had tested positive for the victim’s DNA, according to police. Broward court records show prosecutors filed the case on Nov. 17 when Broward County Circuit Judge Timothy L. Bailey also issued a warrant for Trapp’s arrest.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies booked Trapp on Tuesday and they had held her at the main jail in Fort Lauderdale and at the North Broward Bureau in Pompano Beach, county inmate records show.
Trapp was facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, DUI manslaughter, and DUI property damage. Bailey, who is presiding over the case, ordered a no-bond hold.
Court records show earlier this year, in January, police officers accused Trapp of driving with a suspended license in Coral Springs and the case was dismissed. Records also show a police officer accused her of speeding in 2018 in Pembroke Pines.
Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
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