FHP arrests driver in fatal crash that killed mother, son

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A driver who admitted to running a stop sign and slamming into a vehicle is in jail more than a year after the crash that killed a mother and son.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers said they wanted to conduct the most thorough investigation they could and make the most serious charge that Florida allows against Thomas Gilbert Lee.

Last year, investigators said Lrr was driving his pickup truck northbound on County Road 13 and Katherine Townsend was heading eastbound on 5th Avenue.

Lee said he didn’t see the stop sign at the intersection.

Reports stated he crashed into the side of Townsend’s van, which overturned.

Townsend, 36, and her 9-year-old son, who was ejected from the van, died.

Her daughter survived the crash.

More than a year later, FHP announced Lee was arrested on two counts of vehicular homicide.

Troopers said Lee was going 52 miles per hour when he blew through the intersection.

Lee’s two teenage sons were also with him in the truck with a television mounted on the dashboard.

The 48-year-old is the grandson of the founder of Florida’s largest dairy company, TG Lee Dairy.

Troopers said Lee was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

WFTV