Man Sentenced To 15 Years For Crash That Killed Ormond Beach Woman

Daytona Beach, FL – A man considered a habitual offender is sentenced to 15 years in prison after he was convicted for killing a woman in a crash last year. 30-year-old Donald Tomlinson was arrested in March 2020 after he hit a woman named Margaret Ball, who died hours after the crash. An email from the State Attorney’s Office (SAO) says it took a jury of three men and three women just an hour to return a guilty verdict for Tomlinson on Thursday (Dec. 9).  He was charged with vehicular homicide and careless driving with license suspended causing death. Following his conviction, Tomlinson was immediately remanded and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Just prior to the incident, Tomlinson had been out of prison for four months. That stems from another traffic related charge for fleeing and eluding in December 2019. After his arrest, Ball’s family created a petition to protest a bond reduction granted for Tomlinson by Judge Dennis Craig. At the time, the SAO opposed the reduction in the bond, stating they felt the original bond of $105,000 was appropriate to the crime and the circumstances. “When someone gets behind the wheel of a car and drives recklessly, the consequences are often tragic and deadly,” said State Attorney RJ Larizza following the conviction and sentencing. “The defendant will serve 15 years but the Victim’s family will suffer for the rest of their lives.” Prior to this arrest, Tomlinson had been in and out of the Volusia County Jail about 16 times since he turned 18.