Troopers say her blood-alcohol level was 0.213 after a three-vehicle collision that killed 96-year-old Arthur Gilbert.
NAPLES, FL — A 24-year-old Naples woman accused of driving drunk the wrong way on Interstate 75 and causing a crash that killed a 96-year-old man was denied bond at her first court appearance, keeping her in jail as the case moves forward.
Florida Highway Patrol investigators say Genise Gardenia Taylor drove north in the southbound lanes of I-75 in Collier County before dawn Wednesday and slammed into two vehicles near mile marker 110. Arthur Ward Gilbert, 96, died after the crash, and another driver was hurt. The bond ruling came as authorities released more details about Taylor’s blood-alcohol level, her movements before the wreck and a traffic stop by a Collier County deputy hours earlier that is now under internal review.
Troopers said the crash happened at 4:18 a.m. March 18 on the southbound side of I-75. According to the arrest report, Taylor was driving a 2014 Nissan Rogue northbound in the southbound lanes when she hit two southbound vehicles head-on. One of them was a 2025 Volvo XC60 driven by Gilbert, a Naples man who suffered critical injuries and later died at a hospital. The second was a 2019 Chevrolet Suburban driven by a 57-year-old man from Nashua, New Hampshire, who suffered injuries that troopers described as non-incapacitating. Taylor also was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. At her first appearance the next day, a judge denied bond. Television footage from the hearing showed cuts on Taylor’s face as the charge of DUI manslaughter was read in court.
Investigators said Taylor smelled strongly of alcohol when troopers met her at the hospital. A blood draw taken at about 5:45 a.m. showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.213, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, well above Florida’s legal limit of 0.08. Troopers said Taylor first told them she had one glass of wine while out with a friend, then admitted she also had taken a shot of liquor after investigators challenged that account. The arrest report says Taylor told troopers she had taken her daughter to Chuck E. Cheese in Naples, put the child to bed about 9:30 p.m., left again around 11:30 p.m. and went to Blue Martini in Mercato Plaza before later meeting a man at the Waffle House near Pine Ridge Road and I-75. Troopers also reviewed social media posts they said showed Taylor wearing St. Patrick’s Day beads with friends earlier in the night.
The case drew wider attention after authorities confirmed that Taylor had been stopped by a Collier County sheriff’s deputy for speeding earlier the same morning, before the crash. The sheriff’s office has not publicly said exactly what time that stop happened or whether the deputy conducted field sobriety exercises. Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said he ordered an internal affairs investigation in line with state law and that more information would be released when that review allows. That development raised new questions about what deputies saw during the stop and whether any warning signs of impairment were missed. So far, the sheriff’s office has said only that Taylor was stopped and later released before the fatal collision. No public findings from that internal review had been announced by Sunday.
Gilbert’s death added a personal dimension to a case already likely to carry serious consequences in court. Family members and community acquaintances described him in local interviews as a retired geologist with deep ties to Dorset, Vermont, where he had long been active in the Dorset Historical Society. His wife, Pam Gilbert, said he had been returning after dropping her at the airport when the crash happened. He would have turned 97 in April. Friends and local officials remembered him as a careful, accomplished man whose death came during what should have been an ordinary early-morning drive. Troopers have not accused the other injured driver of wrongdoing, and the available reports do not indicate that weather or road conditions played a role in the wreck.
The criminal case is still in its early stage. Taylor was booked on a single count of DUI manslaughter, a felony charge in Florida. Court records cited by local reporters said the judge denied bond at first appearance, meaning Taylor remained in custody after the hearing. Prosecutors could decide later whether to add charges tied to the injured second driver or to any other evidence developed during the investigation. For now, the main public record is the arrest report and crash findings released by the Florida Highway Patrol. The southbound lanes of I-75 stayed closed for nearly eight hours after the crash and reopened shortly before noon March 18. Investigators have not publicly said whether they are seeking surveillance video, additional toxicology results or data from the vehicles involved.
Neighbors and drivers who passed the backup on the interstate told local news outlets the crash scene was a stark reminder of how quickly a wrong-way collision can turn deadly. One man who saw the damaged vehicles said he felt for Gilbert’s family and for Taylor’s young daughter, who now faces the possibility of having a parent in jail while the case proceeds. Gilbert’s wife declined a full on-camera interview, saying only that it was a hard time for the family. The collision also renewed concern about wrong-way driving on Florida highways, especially in overnight hours when traffic is lighter and impaired driving cases often rise. In this case, officials have not said how long Taylor was traveling in the wrong direction before impact or where she entered the interstate.
The case stood Sunday with Taylor jailed without bond on the DUI manslaughter charge, an internal review underway at the sheriff’s office and the highway patrol investigation still active. The next public milestone is expected to be a formal court date or filing in Collier County as prosecutors decide how to proceed.
Author note: Last updated March 22, 2026.