Roundabout midnight on a December night three years ago, Lyonel Jeune was driving his black Dodge van west on Palm Coast Parkway when William J. Rembert, who was on a bicycle, crossed the Parkway in front of Jeune. Jeune’s Dodge struck the bicycle, sending Rembert crashing on Leanni Way. He died.
Surveillance video captured Jeune stopping his van, walking back to the area of the crash and looking over Rembert. Jeune then walked back to his van quickly and sat in there for 90 seconds before he drove on.
What he was thinking during those 90 seconds has never been told, and was not told when Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols sentenced him to three years in prison followed by 10 years on probation for the hit and run. But he’d told investigators that he had looked around for anyone and saw no one, so he drove on, never calling 911. Yet he told investigators that he knew he’d struck a bicycle.
His vehicle sustained $3,000 in damages, according to a citation he was issued. A toxicology report determined that Rembert had been inebriated. Had jeune simply reported the crash and waited for authorities, he would almost certainly be a free man today, since video footage showed he was not complying with the speed limit, and he was in the right of way.
Jeune, 66, had originally been charged with with a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison and faced a minimum mandatory four years in prison, having a clean record until now. A negotiated plea between his attorney, Josh Davis, and Assistant State Attorney Melissa Clark, lowered the prison term by a year.
Jeune had been out on bond when he arrived for court Monday. He had posted $750 bail on his $7,500 bond almost immediately after his initial arrest in August 2023, when the Florida Highway Patrol concluded its investigation and issued the charge, so he will not have any credit to apply to his time in prison. Still, with gain time, or time off for good behavior, he would end up serving about 30 of the 36 months. He addressed the court through a Creole interpreter.
The terms of his release to probation also include a three-year prohibition on driving, and 12 hours of community service in a trauma center or its equivalent. He may terminate his probation five years into that term, if he follows all conditions and records no violations. He was to have been sentenced several months ago, but the court agreed to delay the sentencing so he could have lumbar surgery.
Rembert’s daughter attended the hearing by zoom. Rembert was homeless and had struggled through various challenges. Some Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies were so familiar with him that in at least one case, a deputy spent time catching up with Rembert about how he’d been since his last encounter with the deputy. The only assets he left behind were the $500 Geico Insurance paid out, plus a $10,000 wrongful death settlement to Rembert’s parents, parts of which was used to pay for his funeral.
