Maecee Marie Lathers, the social media model, appeared in Miami-Dade bond court on Thursday to confront four additional charges related to a fatal accident in downtown Miami in mid-August. According to authorities, she claimed to be a time traveler and under the influence of a party drug..
According to prosecutors, the recent charges stem from a vehicle data search warrant that revealed Lathers, a 24-year-old resident of Miami Gardens, was driving at a speed of nearly 80 mph during the August 10 accident.
Facing two counts each of reckless vehicular homicide and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, she now finds herself in legal trouble. In addition to these charges, she was already facing eight other charges, including two counts of leaving the scene of a crash causing death. Following her release from Jackson Memorial Hospital, she made her first appearance in bond court on Friday.
The prosecutors have indicated that they are likely to charge her with DUI manslaughter, depending on the outcome of a toxicology test.
Lathers, whose license had been suspended since January, was speeding in a white Mercedes-Benz sedan south on North Miami Avenue just after 6:45 a.m. when she disregarded a red light at Eighth Street and collided with a black Range Rover. According to police reports, Lathers’ vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the accident.
The Miami Police Department’s recent arrest report reveals that the vehicle’s data recorders indicate that she was driving at a speed of 57 mph five seconds prior to the crash. At the moment of impact, her speed had increased to 78 mph. It is important to note that the speed limit on that particular street is 30 mph.
According to the police, the two vehicles subsequently crashed into a Suzuki sedan that had three occupants.
According to the arrest report, the driver of the Suzuki died at JMH, while the rear passenger of the vehicle passed away at the scene.
Abraham Ismael, a father of a 16-year-old son, was tragically identified as one of the victims by his family members on a GoFundMe page. His partner, Juanita Hernández, also suffered injuries in the crash.
Lathers and the driver of the Range Rover also sustained injuries.
Witnesses had to intervene and physically restrain Lathers as she attempted to leave the scene, according to authorities.
During Lathers’ last bond court appearance on Friday, Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer revealed that the police reported Lathers claiming to be under the influence of a party drug called “tusi” and asserting that she was from the future and possessed a crystal ball.
In a 2023 medical journal article, Tusi, also known as 2C, is referred to as a “new ketamine concoction” and nicknamed “pink cocaine.” The drug gained attention as Local 10 News produced a special report on it, highlighting its prevalence as the most commonly seized drug at Miami International Airport.
Lathers was deemed “an absolute danger to the community” by Glazer, who granted her a $140,000 bond, house arrest, and a no-drive order last Friday.
Lathers stood before Senior Judge Rosa Figarola on Thursday morning to address the fresh charges. Unlike before, she was now dressed in an ordinary orange jail jumpsuit instead of an anti-suicide vest.
Throughout the entire proceeding, the model, who hails from upstate New York, appeared sullen, looking down and posing seductively for her Instagram posts.
During a Zoom call from a hospital parking lot, Lathers’ attorney, Martez Gordon, expressed surprise at the suddenness of the hearing and revealed that he had not been informed beforehand.
Gordon voiced his objection, stating, “Your honor, this feels like an ambush.”
The prosecutor responded, “It’s not an ambush. We are simply filing additional charges based on the same underlying incident.”
Gordon eventually requested Figarola to impose an additional $20,000 bond on top of the existing $140,000 bond, stating that Lathers had already posted the bond and was expected to be released either today or tomorrow.
The prosecutors sought a larger sum and stricter conditions for house arrest.
“The case at hand is far from ordinary,” declared the prosecutor. “She is responsible for the deaths of two individuals.”
Figarola responded, “I am not minimizing that in any way, shape, or form.”
The judge raised the bond to $26,000 and placed Lathers under stricter house arrest.
Court records indicate that Lathers is set to be arraigned on September 3rd, and she currently remains in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Thursday.