Kriti Mehrotra
It was on May 29, 2016, that everything turned upside down for two families as a head-on car crash along Heckscher Drive resulted in death for one individual and prison for another. Lark Dana Hodge has always maintained her innocence in connection to this harrowing ordeal, yet as explored in A&E’s ‘Accused: Did I Do It?: Deadly Driver or Car Crash Survivor?,’ she wasn’t. That’s why she was eventually arrested, charged, tried, convicted, and sentenced for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Manslaughter against then-46-year-old Derrick Lamar Jones.
Lark Hodge Was Reportedly the One to Lose Control of Her Vehicle
Despite the fact Lark Hodge was admittedly dealt some challenging cards early on in life, she was determined to pursue her dreams and succeed for the sake of her young, loving family. Therefore, at the age of 20 back in 2016, the Jacksonville, Florida-based mother of two toddlers was not only a local cocktail lounge server to make ends meet but also a student as well as an aspiring sommelier. Thus, it comes as no surprise that she was always “reading up” and “tasting wines” whenever she wasn’t working, yet she has vehemently maintained she is a truly responsible drinker.
According to Lark’s accounts in the original production, she knew never to get behind the wheel while inebriated, if not for her or her fellow drivers’ safety, then for her innocent young children. However, things changed in the early hours of May 29, 2016, as she left work to head home for the night, going through the route she had taken probably a hundred times before without issues. It was around 3:25 am when she was heading west on Heckscher Drive in her Ford Escape when she reportedly crossed over into the opposite side’s lane, hitting an SUV head-on with full force.
As per police records, the latter vehicle was being driven by Derrick Jones, and it continued going forward despite significant damage before ending up in a nearby marsh – he sadly died at the scene. On the other hand, Lark’s car simply spun before coming to a stop while facing the wrong way, following which several good Samaritans stopped to help and dialed 911 despite not witnessing the crash. In fact, apart from there being no witnesses to the collision, there was also no surveillance or dashcam footage, leaving officials with nothing but true evidence and Lark’s rather uncertain narrative.
Lark Hodge Was Legally Drunk at the Time of the Terrifying Incident
While it wasn’t long after the initial 911 call that first responders arrived at Heckscher Drive, it was unfortunately already too late for Derrick – he had passed from injuries sustained during the crash. Lark, though, was in and out of consciousness, so she was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where she underwent over more than hours of emergency surgery owing to her extensive injuries. One of her arms was bruised, broken, and slashed, plus she had a bleed in her left frontal cortex, a collapsed lung, a fractured spinal cord, as well as a skull fracture that threatened her way of life.
Doctors initially believed Lark would have to use a wheelchair for at least a year, but she made a quick recovery and was discharged a month later, albeit with a physical therapy schedule. That’s despite the fact she, along with her loved ones, was constantly being questioned by authorities owing to their suspicion that she was responsible for the tragic crash by being drunk. After all, they had not only recovered an open bottle of wine as well as a used glass from her car, but some witnesses had also stated she groggily told them she’d been drinking after the incident.
It was roughly two hours after the fact that officials collected Lark’s blood for a toxicology test, just for her blood alcohol level to be 0.5 – around 0.3 less than the limit in the State of Florida. However, around a year later, they discovered that this test done on her at the hospital immediately upon her arrival produced a result of 0.9, driving them to issue a warrant for her criminal arrest. The mother of two was subsequently charged with DUI manslaughter – on May 18, 2017 – and held on a $75,000 bond, which she reportedly paid to be bailed out roughly three hours later.
Lark Was Convicted and Sentenced For the Accusation Against Her
Although Lark has always asserted she does not remember much of that fateful night, she believes there is no way she would have chosen to drive after consuming alcohol to the extent of drunkness. She reportedly recalls leaving work to go home and getting on Heckscher Drive, but then she draws a blank and only remembers the pain, ambulance lights, seeing some of her injuries, and the hospital. She doesn’t know if she ever told anyone she had been drinking that night or why she did so, especially because, according to her, the wine bottle in her car was from a road trip weeks prior.
Nevertheless, Lark did face trial for the charge against her in 2019, during which her team brought on a medical expert who testified that hospital alcohol tests are not to measure one’s drunkness. As per the expert, it produces results that are usually up to 40% higher than reality, so they can not be relied upon in criminal cases such as this, but in the end, the jury didn’t agree. They did wonder whether a toxicology test had been posthumously performed on Derrick to find out if he was inebriated at the time of the crash too, but evidence regarding the same was not permitted.
According to Lark’s defense attorney in the original production, he found out that Derrick’s blood alcohol level was allegedly over 1.5 when he died and that he also had marijuana in his system. Moreover, per the lawyer, he reportedly had over 7 DUIs under his name and had been permanently banned from driving, indicating he shouldn’t have even been on the road that unfortunate night. Yet, because of the clear evidence against Lark available to the jury, they found her guilty as charged, so she was later sentenced to 5 years in prison, followed by 2 years of house arrest and 3 years of supervision.
Despite Currently Being On House Arrest, Lark is Trying to Live Her Best Life
While it’s true that being sent to prison was Lark’s worst nightmare since she knew she would lose not only her dreams but also quality time with her kids, she did her best to make the most of it. She spoke to them whenever she could, made new plans for her as well as their future, and parented them in every way she could from afar while remaining honest about where she was. She even ensured that they remained with her mother, who helped raise them to her finest abilities, and now, following the convict’s August 20, 2023, release from prison, they are all together.
From what we can tell, Lark will remain on house arrest until the summer of 2025 and will then be under state supervision until 2028, but she is not letting it limit her new dreams or experiences. In fact, today, she calls an 18-acre piece of land her home, where she is building a homestead for sustainability as well as the stability of her entire family – she is determined to beat the odds. She is actually utilizing the Nursery Management/Horticulture degree she earned in prison to grow crops on her farm, care for chicken and cattle, and essentially work towards one day becoming a full-fledged businesswoman and rancher. The mother of 2 as well as dog lover is evidently proud of where she stands today.
Read More: Where is Marquann Campbell Now? Accused Guilty or Innocent Update
