VERO BEACH — The Vero Beach woman who currently faces a charge of DUI manslaughter in the death of 16-year-old Cole Coppola entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday morning, according to her attorney.
Jamie Williams, 21, was arrested at the 17th Street Bridge in the early hours of Saturday morning after she allegedly swerved out of her lane and hit Coppola who was riding his bicycle.
Coppola was thrown from the bridge and his body was found in the Indian River Lagoon later that morning.
According to the arrest report, Williams was standing outside of her vehicle staring into the water when police approached her and administered standardized field sobriety tests. Police also found a small glass pipe in Williams’ center console with what authorities believed to be the remains of marijuana inside.
“She is very, very distraught over the circumstances. Her and her family send their wishes to the victim’s family,” said Alan Landman, the Melbourne-based attorney representing Williams.
According to Landman, Williams has no criminal history.
“You really have two tragedies here. She’s trying to come to grips with what has occurred and she’s having a difficult time with it,” Landman said.
Williams has a bond hearing set for Thursday morning.
Sept. 27 10:53 a.m.
VERO BEACH — A 16-year-old bicyclist, identified as Cole Coppola, of Vero Beach, was killed after the teen was struck by a car around 2 a.m. and knocked off the 17th Street Bridge into the Indian River Lagoon, according to the Vero Beach Police Department.
Jamie Williams, 21, was arrested at 3:07 a.m. and faces charges of felony DUI manslaughter, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana under 20 grams, according to the arrest report.
Coppola was found dead in the water after a search was organized, including the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, the Indian River Fire Rescue dive team and boats.
It took approximately two hours to find Coppola’s body, according to authorities.
According to witnesses, three juveniles were riding their bicycles in the west bound lane when Williams’ 2008 Honda swerved into the bicycle lane and struck the lead cyclist, Coppola, ejecting him over the north side of the bridge.
Williams was arrested at 507 East Cause Blvd., Vero Beach, which is the east side of the 17th Street Bridge. She is currently being held at the Indian River County Jail in lieu of $502,000 bail.