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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 19, 2002
Marybelle Daffron left her Hudson house at dusk on a Saturday night in June for a weekend getaway in Citrus County.
Mrs. Daffron's husband of 44 years planned to meet her the next morning at their mobile home in Homosassa. Mrs. Daffron wanted to go up first to get the place ready.
But just three miles into her journey, Mrs. Daffron was killed in a head-on collision with a drunken driver, Florida Highway Patrol investigators said.
On Thursday, Linda Marie Anderson turned herself in at the county jail in Land O'Lakes to answer to a charge of drunken driving manslaughter in connection with the June 29 crash.
Tests showed that Anderson, 38, of Shady Hills had a blood alcohol level of 0.19 percent at the time of the crash. Florida law presumes impairment at a level of 0.08 percent or higher.
Authorities say Anderson's two-door green Chevrolet crossed the center line on Denton Avenue and struck Mrs. Daffron's car.
Mrs. Daffron, a mother of six, was retired from her job as a secretary at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point. She was 64.
"She was a good mother and a good woman," said her husband, David Daffron, who broke down during a telephone interview Friday.
Mr. Daffron said he had mixed feelings about the news that Anderson had been arrested.
"This is not a happy day for me," he said. "And I'm sure it's not a happy day for (Anderson's) family, either. But there has to be punishment.
"We've all done things we're not proud of," he said. "And I'm sure she's not proud that she got drunk and killed somebody."
Anderson's criminal record shows a previous conviction for DUI in 1993. She also has convictions for sale and possession of marijuana.
Anderson was held Friday in the county jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.