Jail call reveals traffic stop details before fatal I-75 wrong-way crash

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK) — WINK Investigates obtained a jail phone call in which a woman accused of causing a deadly wrong-way crash on I-75 describes in her own words a traffic stop that happened less than two hours before the crash.

Genise Taylor, 24, is accused of driving drunk the wrong way on I-75 and causing a crash that killed 96-year-old Arthur Gilbert of Naples. Taylor entered her pre-trial hearing Monday afternoon without speaking, but her voice was heard in the courtroom through a jail phone call submitted as evidence.

WINK Investigates obtained a copy of the call from the Collier County Clerk of Courts. In the recording, Taylor describes what happened during a traffic stop that occurred less than two hours before the crash.

"You got pulled over at 2:30 in the morning, correct?" a man asked Taylor in the jail call.

"Yeah, the cop had knew me... and he let me go," Taylor said.

"And the cop let you go... well, he shouldn't have done that, and that's gonna be something that helps you out in this case, because that cop should have, that cop should have stopped you and not let you drive anymore, at least... but he didn't," the man said.

"He didn't let me drive... he didn't let me drive... my friend took the car," Taylor said.

"Oh, oh my god, bro. Oh my god, bro," the man responded.

Taylor's defense attorney says the man on the phone is her family member. The State Attorney's Office used Taylor's own words against her during the hearing.

"She knew at 2:30 that she shouldn't be driving because a law enforcement officer apparently told her that and waited for somebody to come pick her up, and yet she chose to get back into a vehicle," said Mara Marzano, assistant state attorney.

The Collier County Sheriff's Office says Deputy Eric Pellegrino is not on administrative leave, but is at the center of an internal investigation into the traffic stop.

Gilbert was on his way home to Naples after dropping off his wife at the airport when he lost his life in the crash. Earlier this week, his wife Pamela told WINK News she is focused on celebrating his legacy with family.

Gilbert would have been 97 next month.

In the jail call, Taylor expressed remorse about the incident.

"I would never want to touch another drop of alcohol in my life again," Taylor said.