Deltona woman arrested for failing to appear in court on vehicular homicide charge

A Deltona woman who had been charged with vehicular homicide while driving a Ford Lincoln with mechanical problems on East International Speedway Boulevard in DeLand in 2021 was arrested Saturday for failing to appear in court, legal documents show.

Jessica Velez, 30, was out on $10,000 bail after she was arrested on April 20, 2022, in the death of Nickolas Martin, 28, of Deltona. He was a front-seat passenger in a Ford Lincoln and was ejected when the car overturned, DeLand police said.

Velez was scheduled to be in court Sept. 11 for docket sounding and trial on Sept. 16. A court action form filed on Sept. 11 noted that Velez failed to appear before a judge. She was rearrested and charged with two counts of violation of pretrial release, vehicular homicide, and manslaughter. She was in the Volusia County Branch Jail Sunday without bail.

DeLand police said that on Dec. 11, 2021, Velez was westbound on East International Speedway Boulevard traveling 76 mph in a 45 mph zone, cutting in between cars when she lost control west on Brunswick Lane.

Velez' vehicle rolled over into the median and crossed into the eastbound lanes of traffic striking a Toyota on the driver's side at 7:10 p.m., an arrest report states.

Martin died at the scene of the crash. Velez, who was also ejected from her vehicle, was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. The driver of the Toyota, who suffered a bruise to her arm, was taken to Advent Health Hospital in DeLand.

Velez told police that she and Martin were headed to DeLand to pick up food for their children when the crash occurred, according to the report. Witnesses said Velez was speeding, and showed no signs of slowing down.

Velez told investigators the car had steering problems which caused it to veer left and into the eastbound lanes. She also said the vehicle's seatbelts didn't work, it had acceleration issues and stalled out the report said.

Velez said the car was "always broken down" or had the "doors falling off," investigators wrote in the report.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Deltona woman arrested for failing to appear in court on vehicular homicide charge