EUSTIS, Florida—A Umatilla man has been arrested for the April 2022 death of a Sorrento woman who was killed in a motorcycle crash in Eustis less than two weeks after her 28th birthday.
Edgar Wesley Tello, 65, had an alcohol level of .017—more than twice the legal limit at the time of the crash, according to medical records subpoenaed by Eustis Police Department following the crash.
On April 24, 2022 Rebekah Jo Towner, 28, was a passenger on 2006 Harley Davidson being controlled by Tello, northbound on Grove Street, when he struck a curb, rode on the grass and then struck a construction sign near Pendleton Avenue, causing the motorcycle to slide on its left side. The motorcycle tires then struck the curb again and it flipped to its right side.
Police believe Towner’s head struck the sign, and the impact ejected her and Tello off the bike. The motorcycle slid more than 189 feet before coming to its final resting place with Tello next to it suffering head and neck injuries. Towner struck a guardrail in front of a home on Grove Street, causing blunt force trauma to her head, which resulted in her death. Medical records showed Towner was also drunk and had several controlled substances in her system.
Tello, well enough to be interviewed the next day, told a Eustis Police Department traffic homicide investigator the day of the crash, he was in a motorcycle show during Leesburg’s Bike Fest where he had one beer. After the show he went to a Tavares restaurant where he met Towner and they had drinks together, They left Tavares and traveled to a downtown Eustis restaurant just a half of a mile from the crash scene and had more beer. Tello could not remember how much beer they had at either restaurant, according to the affidavit.
A manager at the Tavares restaurant later told police Tello and Towner met at her restaurant and, “it was obvious they did not know each other,” the affidavit states. The manager said the pair had two drinks and was asked to leave.
At the Eustis restaurant, a manager told police, Tello and Towner were at the establishment about an hour and shared a pitcher of beer. Tello started getting aggressive with staff, paid the bill and surveillance video showed Tello left on his bike with Towner on the back.
Less than half a mile later, Tello would crash the motorcycle, leaving Towner dead. A witness told Inside Lake the day of the crash, “I heard a squeal, like it hit the curb and then there were two booms,” he said. “He (Tello) was going faster than 30 (mile pers hour.”)
The speed limit in that area is 30 miles per hour and there is an electronic speed monitor reminding motorists of their speed and to slow down. A warrant was issued for Tello’s arrest Feb. 8, and he was booked into the Lake County Jail the following day, where he remains on no bond.
Sorrento Woman Killed in Eustis Motorcycle Crash
