The trials of Orchid residents Elizabeth Jewkes-Danielsen and Paul Danielsen for their part in a deadly May 2022 crash involving an elderly John’s Island couple has been postponed four months by Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Cox.
The soonest the trial date for the civil negligence and wrongful death cases against the two will now take place is April.
Christopher Ingraham, 89, died from his crash injuries and Frances Ingraham was hospitalized for serious injuries after their vehicle was struck on A1A in Indian River Shores just outside the entrance to Bermuda Bay.
“After reviewing the Court file, the parties have not attended mediation as required by the rules and procedures of this court as well as the Circuit Civil Jury-Non-Jury Division Agreed Case Management Plan,” Cox wrote.
“The parties are required to attend mediation before proceeding to trial and it is hereby ordered and adjudged that the parties shall immediately coordinate and attend mediation on or before Dec. 2, 2024.”
Cox later extended the mediation deadline to mid-February as she updated the case management plan.
Attorney Dane Ullian, who represents family members of John’s Island residents Christopher and Frances Ingraham in the civil lawsuits, on Nov. 15 gave notice of amending his original lawsuit to seek punitive damages.
In his motion for leave to assert punitive damages, Ullian wrote, “On May 10, 2022, Defendant Elizabeth Danielsen – drunk enough for three people to get a DUI – passed multiple cars across a double-yellow line on A1A driving up to 93 mph, more than double the speed limit. And then the inevitable happened: this drunk, reckless driver killed somebody.
“When a drunk, reckless driver kills somebody, punitive damages are appropriate,” Ullian wrote.
Meanwhile a vehicular homicide criminal case against Jewkes-Danielsen is moving toward trial before Circuit Court Judge Robert Meadows, with the case scheduled for a “mini docket call” in February, at which a trial date could be set. Meadows recently granted Jewkes-Danielsen permission to subpoena records pertaining to chain of custody and hospital procedures for handling the bloodwork that plays a key role in the criminal case.
Police say Jewkes-Danielsen was traveling 87 miles per hour in a 45 mile-per-hour zone when she collided with the Ingrahams’ vehicle, and that her blood-alcohol level tested out at three times the legal limit for driving under the influence in Florida.
Electronic records from the vehicle show Jewkes-Danielsen’s maximum speed a split-second before the crash was 93 miles per hour.
Jewkes-Danielsen was arrested in January 2023 while lounging by the pool at her Orchid Island Club condominium, but after spending less than two days in jail, has been out on $150,000 bond on pre-trial community control supervision ever since.
She is accused of driving drunk at a high rate of speed through the Town of Indian River Shores and smashing into the Ingrahams’ vehicle, killing Christopher Ingraham and seriously injuring wife Frances Ingraham.
Paul Danielsen, a longtime federal appeals court attorney from California, is accused of “acting in concert” with his wife, racing her home north on U.S. A1A, contributing to the cause of the crash. Police say the Danielsens were enjoying drinks at the Polo Grill prior to driving home.