De Lawn Duncan and Eric McGill Died After Their Mazda SUV Was Struck on Maricamp Road

 Ocala, Florida, is mourning a mother and son whose lives ended together in a crash before dawn Tuesday. De Lawn Marshall Duncan, 50, and her grown son, Eric Derick Maurice McGill, 31, were killed when their Mazda SUV collided with a Dodge Caravan at the intersection of Southeast 36th Avenue and Maricamp Road. They were on their way to work, according to police, when an ordinary trip became a devastating loss.

The crash happened about 2:45 a.m. Sept. 29, according to the Ocala Police Department. Police said Duncan was driving the Mazda eastbound on Maricamp Road and turning left onto Southeast 36th Avenue when the SUV was struck by a Dodge Caravan traveling westbound. Duncan and McGill, both Ocala residents, were pronounced dead at the scene, while the two brothers inside the minivan, ages 33 and 24, were taken to a local hospital in serious condition.

The fatal collision was investigated as authorities began piecing together what happened in the minutes before the impact. The two brothers were reportedly the occupants of the minivan involved in the crash, and police said their vehicle had been encountered by an officer earlier that morning. That earlier contact has since become a central part of the department’s review because of what officers knew, or may have known, before the deadly collision occurred.

According to police, officers encountered the brothers around 2:30 a.m. near State Road 200 after the pair had been involved in an argument and their van was stopped or blocking a lane. Officers spoke with them while they were near the roadway, and body-camera footage appeared to show signs that both men had been drinking earlier. Police later acknowledged that officers did not investigate whether either driver was impaired before allowing the men to leave.

The decision has prompted an internal affairs investigation within the Ocala Police Department. Chief Mike Balken said the lead officer had been out of field training for only about 30 days and is on paid administrative leave while the review proceeds. A backup officer was also present, but officials said that officer did not have full knowledge of the situation. The internal investigation is expected to take approximately four weeks as officials examine the officers’ actions.

Meanwhile, traffic homicide investigators are handling the crash itself and working to establish the complete sequence of events. The case was referred to the State Attorney’s Office, but prosecutors determined that the circumstances involving the officer did not rise to the level of a criminal offense, according to the department. That determination is separate from the continuing internal review, which is examining whether department policies and procedures were properly followed during the earlier encounter.

For the families of Duncan and McGill, those reviews cannot change what happened at the intersection. Two people traveling to work were killed within moments, while their loved ones were left to confront a loss that began with an early-morning crash. Police said the victims were a mother and son, making the tragedy especially painful for those who knew them and for a community now remembering two lives connected by family and a final journey. Their absence will be felt long after the investigation is complete.

De Lawn Marshall Duncan and Eric Derick Maurice McGill will be remembered beyond the details of a traffic investigation or the questions now surrounding the moments before the crash. Their names represent a mother, a son, two lives and a family forever changed on Sept. 29. As investigators continue their work, the focus remains on establishing the facts while those closest to Duncan and McGill grieve the people they loved.