Driver in April Crash Charged With Vehicular Homicide

The Tampa man who was behind the wheel of a four-door Ford pickup truck during an April 12 crash on Dale Mabry Highway and Stall Road that claimed two lives now faces two counts of vehicular homicide.

The Florida Highway Patrol says Isaac Baker, 25, of 22nd Street in Tampa, was also charged with driving without a valid license. Neco J. Jones, 18, and Benjamin Lenard Fowler, 20, both of Tampa, died following the crash.

The accident took place just before 6:30 a.m. on April 12. The highway patrol said Isaac Baker’s pickup was traveling northbound on Dale Mabry in the center lane, just south of Stall Road when it occurred.

Isaac Baker lost control of the pickup and served to the left “for unknown reasons,” according to a highway patrol report. The truck struck the curb and center crass median and then overturned into the southbound lane of Dale Mabry.

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Jones and Fowler were riding in the pickup’s back. They were ejected as the vehicle overturned. Jones died at the scene. Benjamin died later at St. Joseph’s hospital.

After the initial crash, a second vehicle, driven by Joyce Baker, 58, of Odessa was traveling southbound on Dale Mabry. That vehicle struck Jones who was laying in the center of the southbound lane.

Three other passengers riding in Isaac Baker’s truck received serious injuries.

There is no relation between Isaac Baker and Joyce Baker.

Isaac Baker was arrested Dec. 17. Baker was in the Hillsborough County Jail on $15,250 bond as of this morning. He has been arrested in the past, according to jail records, on charges of trespassing.