Arrests made in wrong-way, hit-and-run deaths of Ali Spice, two others

Frank Fernandez, The Daytona Beach News-Journal

April 7, 2023 at 1:56 PM·4 min read

TikTok star Ali Spice was among those killed in a car wreck near DeLand on Dec. 11. Two arrests have been made in the crash.

Police have arrested both drivers involved in a crash that killed a popular Tik Tok personality and two others: the wrong-way driver who is accused of leaving the scene and the other driver who was speeding at 100 mph, according to the State Attorney's Office.

Thomas Petry, 54, of Orange City, was accused of being the wrong-way driver and was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide, three counts of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, and other charges in the wrong-way, hit-and-run deaths of the popular Tik Tok personality and two others.

Petry made his first appearance Friday morning at Volusia County Branch Jail courtroom before Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols who read the charges against him and said he would continue to be held without bond. Petry did not make any comment as a public defender stood next to him.

Police have also arrested the other driver, Devin Perkins, 22, of New Smyrna Beach, and charged him with three counts of vehicular homicide and reckless driving-serious bodily injury, according to the State Attorney's Office.

Ali Spice and two other passengers in the car driven by Perkins were killed.

The news was announced in a Facebook post by Theresa Moser, mother of Kyle Moser, one of the victims of the crash, and confirmed by jail records.

"BEST WAKE UP CALL EVER, FINALLY WE CAN START TO GET JUSTICE FOR ALI KYLE AVA DEVIN ARREST WAS MADE. 1:06 THIS MORNING," she wrote.

Ali Spice killed Ali Spice, TikTok star, killed in crash near DeLand

The crash occurred on the morning of Dec. 11. A Toyota Tacoma that was westbound in the east lane of State Road 44 slammed into the front of an Infiniti Q50 that overturned into the median and then ended upright again, troopers said.

Killed in the Infiniti were Alexandra Dulin, 21, also known as Ali Spice on TikTok to almost a million followers, Kyle Jacob Moser, 25, of Daytona Beach, and Ava Fellerman, 20, of Clearwater. The driver of the Infiniti, Perkins, was injured.

Jimmy Dulin, Ali's father, said the arrests have brought mixed emotions. While he is relieved to know Petry has been arrested, he and other family members do not support the arrest of Perkins.

"We don't believe that anything he did is the result of these children's lives being taken," Dulin said.

Dulin said Perkins' toxicology report came back clean, and the only thing he did wrong was speed. But a charging affidavit indicated that Perkins blood tested positive for alcohol and THC.

"We're very, very sad that they have chosen to arrest Devin," he said.

He asked for prayer for Perkins and his family. Dulin, who lives in Indiana with his wife, said the family plans to come to Florida soon to attend as many court proceedings as possible.

"I can't describe how horrible it is to lose a child," he said. "It hasn't gotten any better."

A woman told investigators that she had spent the afternoon of Dec. 10 and into Dec. 11 with Petry, according to a charging affidavit. She said they were drinking alcohol at the Eagles Nest on Michigan Avenue in Orange City. She said the last thing she remembered was getting into the passenger seat of her Toyota Tacoma which was being driven by Petry.

The Tacoma's owner is Joanna Dillon, 37, of Deltona, according to a police report.

An independent witness told investigators that Petry was operating the Tacoma, the affidavit stated. But investigators have other evidence.

Investigators said they obtained a search warrant for Petry's DNA and for samples from the Tacoma's airbags which deployed in the crash, the affidavit stated. The lab results confirmed that Petry was driving the Tacoma at the time of the crash.

A woman identified as Jeanne Jewell told investigators that she saw Petry walking south on Kempler Avenue more than four miles from the site of the crash and asked if he needed a ride and he asked her to take her to the Ford dealership, the affidavit stated.

She stated Petry's clothes were dirty and it looked like he had been in a fight, the affidavit stated.

Petry was driving the wrong way for at least eight miles. Three witnesses called 911 to say that the Toyota was traveling west in the eastbound lanes, with the first calls east of State Road 415 eight miles east of the crash site. The first callers had to pull off the road because the Toyota was in the wrong lane. The second caller flashed his lights to try to warn the Toyota's driver that he was going the wrong way but it did not work.

Petry was served alcoholic beverages at the Fraternal Order of Eagles the six hours before leaving the establishment, the affidavit stated.

Sheldon Gardner contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Both drivers arrested in Ali Spice hit-and-run death, two others

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