Charges increased for woman smiling in mugshot

OCALA (FOX 13) - It's a mug shot that's gotten international attention for the wrong reasons. It shows an Ocala woman smiling ear to ear, hours after troopers say she caused a crash while driving under the influence.

Four days later, one of the women hurt in the crash, who recently moved to Ocala from Sarasota, died from her injuries. Sixty-year-old Sandra Clarkston's family has a message for all drivers.

"My mom was a wonderful person. She had a good heart," said Keonna Sciacca.

"She didn't deserve to go right now, at all," said Shiyanne Kroll.

Monday afternoon, Sciacca and Kroll stood at the corner of U.S. 27 and Northwest 60th Avenue, the last place that their mother was their mother.

"I just feel like it's unreal," said Kroll, who lives in Seattle. "I was coming to visit my mother. I didn't plan on burying my mother."

May 10, FHP says Kroll and Clarkston were stopped at a red light at 27th and NW 60th. Kroll was driving and Clarkston was in the passenger's seat when Troopers say a pickup truck driven by 44-year-old Angenette Welk slammed into of their vehicle, pushing it into a horse trailer in front of them.

"Crushed the car like a can," Kroll recalled. "My mom pretty much died right by me."

Clarkston was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries. Welk was taken to jail on several DUI charges. Troopers say her blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.

Welk smiled for her first mug shot, which became the topic of widespread criticism online. But on May 14, Clarkston died from her injuries. Welk was re-arrested over the weekend, charged with DUI manslaughter. In the most recent mug shot, she wasn't smiling.

"That picture is disgusting," Kroll said of the first mug shot.

"It's a void you can't fill. It's just been tragic.The last week and a half has been complete hell trying to absorb it and understand it," Sciacca said. 

Sandra and her twin brother Daniel Clarkston, who lives in Pinellas Park, had just celebrated their 60th birthdays the day before the crash.

"She was four minutes older than me. I lost my sister. I lost my twin," Daniel Clarkston said. "That's hard. To just stand there and watch her take her last breath. We lost somebody in our family we loved dearly."

"My sister worked hard like she did our whole lives," he said. "She worked so hard and she loved everybody. She'd drop what she was doing to be there for you."

We reached out to Welk's attorney, Stacy Youmans, who told us, "There's been lot speculation as to the character of Ms. Welk based on a photo. She is a good-hearted person, wife, mother and friend. She is devastated about what happened and her heart breaks for Clarkston family."

Sciacca said, "I don't forgive her. There's nothing she can say or do that's gonna make that change. The only thing is, I will continue and be driven the rest of my life to make drunk-driving awareness."

Clarkston's body has been taken back home to Kentucky where she'll be laid to rest. Her family says they plan fight hard, petitioning, collecting signatures and speaking to lawmakers in hopes of strengthening Florida's DUI laws so no other family has to feel the pain they're feeling.