Teen charged in deadly Citrus County crash
A 16-year-old Florida boy from Ocala is accused of driving drunk when he hit and killed a teenage girl in Citrus County.
INVERNESS, Fla. – The loved ones of a teenager who was killed in a DUI crash involving a 16-year-old suspect are speaking out.
Mateo Perez-Gregson says he was in the car with his girlfriend 18-year-old Jordan Wheatley when a car going the wrong way hit them head-on as they were on their way to McDonald’s to get food. Wheatley died in the crash, and Perez-Gregson was in the passenger seat next to her.
“It was so quick. We were just having a conversation, and now she’s just laying there, not talking to me,” said Perez-Gregson. “Just making noises and wouldn’t talk to me. It killed me.”
An arrest report by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) released Monday said the crash happened on Jan. 29 on U.S. Highway 41 south of South Airport Road in Citrus County. Antonio Villalbazo, of Ocala, was arrested.Â
Authorities said Villalbazo, who was never issued a driver’s license, was behind the wheel of a Toyota Rav4 while under the influence, traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of the highway. Troopers said the teen also had two small baggies of cocaine in his possession.
At the time of the crash, FHP said Villalbazo had a passenger in the Rav4, later identified as Manuel Alfonzo Villalbazo, 22, of Ocala. Troopers arrested him on multiple charges including allowing an unauthorized person to drive and aggravated child abuse. According to court records, those charges have been dropped.
“It’s nice he’s not here,” said Perez-Gregson. “He’s not having a good life, but it’s not going to make up for what he took for me. And it never will. Anything they do.”
Perez-Gregson now walks with a cane because he broke his pelvis in the crash. As for now, he’s taking it one step at a time.
“It’s just been really hard. It’s been difficult. I hate going through it every day. But I know she’d want me to, so I’m here,” he said. “She was just an amazing person. She was beautiful, her family loved her, and she meant so much to so many people, and she didn’t deserve anything that happened.”