Cape man charged with vehicular homicides
A Cape Coral man remained behind bars Friday, accused in two traffic fatalities earlier this year.
Jason Scott Jones, 36, of 609 S.E. Third Terrace, is being held without bond at the Lee County Jail.
He was arrested on a warrant Wednesday and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide in the deaths of Edward C. Mildner and Joanne Marie Grimes on Feb. 28 in a two-vehicle crash. Jones was additionally charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.
“The Cape Coral Police Department has concluded its investigation into this horrible tragedy,” Sgt. Dana Coston, the spokesman for the department, said in a prepared statement earlier this week.
“Culminating with the arrest of Jones, we are hopeful that the families of Edward C. Mildner and Joanne Marie Grimes can get some sense of relief, and that as the case moves through the criminal justice system, some closure on this painful chapter of their lives,” he said.
At 5:18 p.m., police responded to a crash in the 1500 block of Veterans Memorial Parkway West.
A 2008 Hummer, driven by Jones, was headed westbound on Veterans in the outside lane when it traveled off the north edge of the road and onto the grassy median, officials reported. The Hummer continued off road for about 500 feet before the driver’s side of the vehicle struck a row of shrubs.
Following the impact, the Hummer traveled back toward Veterans and crossed over the westbound lanes. The SUV crossed the grassy center median, then crossed over two of the eastbound lanes. It was at this point that the Hummer collided front first into the driver’s side door of an eastbound Toyota.
The 1992 minivan, which was being driven by Mildner, was traveling in the outside lane.
The collision caused the Hummer to spin before coming to rest on its roof, while the Toyota flipped over onto its roof and came to rest. Mildner and Grimes were pronounced dead at the scene.
Jones and his passenger – a boy, 8 – were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
According to police, Jones was booked on the additional drug charges Wednesday because he had several Oxycodone and numerous illegal steroids in his possession at the time of the accident.
Jones has a court appearance scheduled for Nov. 18.