Inset: Estiben Garcia Luis (Marion County Jail). Background: Police investigate after Garcia Luis allegedly killed a couple while fleeing a robbery (Ocala Police Department).
A 17-year-old allegedly fleeing a robbery plowed into a couple celebrating the husband's 77th birthday, killing both victims, authorities in Florida say.
Estiben Garcia Luis faces two counts of felony murder in the deaths of Charles Duncan and Lynn Duncan in Ocala, according to police. Cops say Garcia Luis had just committed a robbery at the Ocala SportsPlex athletic fields on May 8. Garcia Luis and another person fled in a Ford Mustang and were allegedly speeding when they ran a stop sign and collided with the Duncans' Ford Explorer at the intersection of SW 38th Street and SW 67th Avenue Road.
The Duncans were rushed to a hospital, where they later died.
Detectives say they were able to charge Garcia Luis with murder because the crash happened during the commission of a felony. He's being charged as an adult.
The victims' daughter, Rebecca Duncan-Taylor, told local Fox affiliate WOFL that her parents were out celebrating her father's 77th birthday when the collision occurred.
"It's just been life-changing," Duncan-Taylor said in an interview with the TV station. "My dad was a huge part, and so was my mom, of my kids' lives, my grandkids' lives."
Duncan-Taylor recalled how she sang Happy Birthday when she spoke with her dad earlier in the day, only to later learn how her parents were involved in a fatal crash.
"It was completely senseless," she said. "And then to know the background behind all of it, it makes me sad and I'm angry. It's a lot of emotions."
Cops arrested Garcia Luis last week. He remains in the Marion County Jail without bond. His next court date is on July 21.
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