Road rage that turned to murder on a San Diego highway results in a $1 million bail for the accused Darla Jackson.
What started as a disagreement on Interstate 5 around 5:30 p.m. on May 28, between Jackson in her Nissan Altima and Navy Officer Zachary Buob on his Ducati motorcycle, ended in tragedy. Officials say Jackson hit the motorcycle from behind, and intentionally ran him over, as reported by Noozsaurus . Buob died an hour later at a nearby hospital.
Jackson was arrested on Friday and was charged with one count of murder. As 26-year-old Darla stood before the judge on Tuesday, her bail was set for $1 million. This was much lower than the $3 million requested by the prosecution. Jackson’s mother, Margie, cried in the courtroom as the judge announced the sum of the bail, who still claims her daughter is innocent, according to NBC San Diego .
“They made it sound like she viciously went after him. Please, who does that? No. Not my daughter.”
Jackson recollection of what happened is explained by her attorney, Stephen Cline. “The guy sped past her with a motorcycle, he got mad about something, he kicked her car, she chased after him, and they collided in the end when they ran into traffic.”
However, eyewitnesses reveal a different version of the road rage, and cell phone video footage to support their stories.
William Touch is one of those witnesses. He recalled what he saw take place to NBC 7 as he was purposely and intently watching every move that was made between Jackson and the 39-year-old motorcyclist and victim, Buob. Touch stated he saw Jackson “sideswipe” the motorcycle three times.
“Her front bumper was literally touching the bike itself. She stayed right behind him and I guess clips the back tire and I guess shakes a little bit.”
Jackson claims she was simply riding close to him to get his tag number, and it was simply an accident.
However, public records have now come to light, revealing that not only did Jackson just recently get her driver’s license back after the DMV had revoked them for the past two years, but Jackson is also no stranger to acts of violence. During the past three years, Jackson has had a domestic violence report and two restraining orders filed against her by ex-boyfriends, as reported by NBC San Diego .
In one of the restraining order documents, Jackson’s ex claims she tried to run over him with her car after they had an argument. NBC San Diego reveals the wording in part of the document by Jackson’s ex-boyfriend as saying, “As I was getting out, the Respondent [Jackson] put the car in the wrong gear causing the car to make a thud sound. The Respondent accused me of kicking her car. I told the Respondent, ‘I did not kick your car.’ I began to talk away and the Respondent told me, ‘I’m going to run your b**ch a** over with my car.’ ”
The restraining order goes on further to say that Jackson proceeded to come toward her ex-boyfriend in her car as he was trying to run away and had to jump a fence to get away from her. Jackson continued to pursue her ex, with over 300 calls and texts threatening to kill him.
Very similar information is contained in the second restraining order filed by a second ex-boyfriend.
Yet, Jackson’s mother paints a different story of her daughter, saying she is a loving mother of a 3-year-old child.
Buob leaves grieving family and friends who love and miss him dearly. Kathryn Cramer, a dear friend of Buob, told Noozsaurus that Buob was a career military man with more than 20 years of service and many tours completed overseas.
“He was so strong but his heart was so sweet. He was truly one of the ‘good guys’ and my heart is broken. My prayers are with his Mom and Dad and family. He loved them so much.”
Buob’s mother, Kathy Buob, refuses to make a statement regarding the road rage as she buries her precious son. She only made a beautiful statement to NBC San Diego about her loving boy, his contributions to this world, and how he will be missed by all who knew and loved him.
“Zach was a loving son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend. The military was his 2nd family… He helps his friends, if they need it. He had a kind and caring soul… Our son, Zach will always be remembered for his smile, joking around with his family and friends and the love he showed to all of us. That will be missed most of all. We still find it extremely hard to believe this has happened to our family.”
[Photo Credit: NBCSandiego.com, Noosaurus.com]