PHOTO: Marion County Fire Rescue

Fruitland Park woman arrested for DUI manslaughter in bicyclist’s death

Fruitland Park, Inside Scoop / By Marilyn M. Aciego / June 8, 2025 / Fatality, FHP, Florida, Marion County / 1 minute of reading

BELLEVIEW, Fla. — A Fruitland Park woman is being held in the Marion County Jail on no bond, accused of killing a bicyclist early Saturday morning.

Shortly before 2 a.m., Janice Schwarz, 34, of Fruitland Park was driving a sedan westbound on State Road 25 just past the intersection of Southeast 80^th Court near Belleview, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. She struck a bicyclist from behind who was riding westbound on the north shoulder, killing the man, FHP said.

The bicyclist, a 37-year-old Ocala man, was pronounced deceased on the scene by Marion County Fire Rescue. Schwarz was arrested for DUI manslaughter and four counts of DUI property damage.

About The Author

Marilyn M. Aciego

Publisher Marilyn M. Aciego was born and raised in Lake County and is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She began her journalism career at LSSC and in 2023 she was honored with LSSC’s Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award. She began working at the Daily Commercial while she was in college and continued her career there as a reporter after she graduated. In her 20+ year-career, she covered many of the area’s top stories including the disappearance of Trenton Duckett and the death of beloved Sheriff Chris Daniels. She has landed many exclusive interviews and was the first to break two of the biggest stories of 2024- the death of Jamaria Sessions and the murder of a Lake County Sheriff's Office deputy and the attempted murder of two other deputies. In addition to Inside Lake, Marilyn is the single mom of a teenaged son and the Florida Bureau Chief for an international media organization.

About The Author

Marilyn M. Aciego

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