Woman accused of fatally hitting pedestrian in Jacksonville Beach still able to drive

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — A woman accused of hitting and killing a vacationer in Jacksonville Beach with her SUV over the weekend still has not been charged.

Action News has learned it could be weeks before police file charges.

On Monday, tire tracks could still be seen in the grass where the SUV jumped the curb onto a sidewalk along Fourth Avenue North and Second Street North. Blue marks show the SUV's path on the sidewalk, where Deborah Allison Brewer is accused of hitting 24-year-old vacationer Mike Gunderson. Splintered remains of a palm tree could be seen too.
                
Police say after all that, Brewer then struck a parked car and a trolley across the street before finally coming to a stop.

Gunderson had never seen the ocean before he drove from Wisconsin to Jacksonville Beach.
                
He got to put his toes in the sand and visit Castillo de San Marcos before his friend Jeremy Anderson said a night out at this bar ended violently.

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"I saw his body, like, almost decapitated. And I just dropped to my knees and tried to resuscitate him," Anderson said.

Jacksonville Beach Police Commander Mark Evans said police still don't know if Brewer was drunk or high.
                
Action News: "Explain to me why this woman was not breathalyzed on the scene."

Evans: "Well the reason is because it was a traffic crash involving a fatality."

Evans said that means police hold the evidence to a higher standard and blood work can tell police more details than a Breathalyzer can.
               
We looked into Brewer's background and found out she was cited for careless driving and arrested for battery in 2006 and arrested for DUI in 2004.

We went to her house to get her side of the story but no one came to the door.

Police say it could be weeks before any charges are filed as they wait for her blood work to come back.
We found out she's still free to drive.

"We have to follow the protocols," Evans said.

Evans said officers have already shipped off the information the State Attorney's Office would need to potentially suspend Brewer's license. He said that would likely happen before her blood work, which will show whether she was high or drunk at the time of the crash, comes back from the lab.

"It's a lengthy process," Evans said.

Anderson said Gunderson worked in manufacturing and enjoyed bonfires and spending time with friends.

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