FORT WALTON BEACH, FL. (THECOUNT) — Hilton Robert Smith, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, has been charged with DUI manslaughter in an early Thursday crash that killed one young adult and seriously injured another.
Smith, 20, was drunk when he slammed into the passenger side of another vehicle operated by 24-year-old, Shelby Lynn Byington, also of Fort Walton Beach.
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Byington’s 26-year-old passenger, Alexis Michaela Marshall, was pronounced dead at the scene of multiple blunt force trauma injuries suffered in the violent crash.
Byington received serious injuries and was taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center, according to nwfdailynews.
A crash report noted both victims were wearing seat belts.
Smith, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was uninjured.
Smith was charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI serious injury, underage drinking and possession alcohol early Thursday.
Shelby Lynn Byington, 24 of Fort Walton Beach, was traveling south on Mary Esther Cut-Off in a Toyota SUV at 1:50 a.m., according to a press release from Florida Highway Patrol. As Byington approached the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard, along with 26-year-old passenger Alexis Michaela Marshall of Mary Esther, a Toyota Highlander entered the intersection and collided with the right side of Byington’s vehicle. The Highlander was driven by Hilton Robert Smith of Fort Walton Beach who, according to the press release, had been drinking.
Anyone with possible information on the crash should contact police at 911.
Friends and family members took to Facebook to remember the beloved young woman:
Mary Esther is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,851 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Fort Walton Beach–Crestview–Destin Metropolitan Statistical Area, according to Wikipedia.