Left: Sarah Nowlin (Escambia County Jail). Right: Calvin Garlick (Mason County Press).
A 40-year-old woman from Florida is set to spend up to 15 years in prison for fleeing after hitting a man on a scooter, resulting in an internal decapitation that led to his death.
Sarah Rachel Nowlin, without contesting, admitted to leaving the crash site that caused the death of 34-year-old Calvin Anthony Garlick in Pensacola, as per court documents. On Wednesday, a judge handed Nowlin a 15-year prison sentence, requiring her to serve at least four years before she can apply for parole, according to a statement from the First Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office in a press release.
“The defendant was fully aware of her wrongdoing,” stated Charles Britt, the prosecutor in the case. “Evidence revealed that Ms. Nowlin knew she struck someone, lied about it to everyone, including her 8-year-old child who was in the car during the incident, attempted to conceal the vehicle in a forested area, and continuously tried to hide her crime to avoid accountability. Nowlin had multiple chances to correct her actions but chose to pursue self-preservation immorally at every opportunity.”
The event occurred just before 10 p.m. on January 26, 2024, on West Nine 1/2 Mile Road close to Omar Avenue, as per a probable cause arrest affidavit. Garlick was on his way home from work when the crash happened. A nearby resident found Garlick unconscious and not breathing in a ditch. Emergency responders arrived swiftly, but he was pronounced dead on site.
Debris from a 2008 Toyota Prius was left at the scene, and surveillance footage captured a white car speeding by at the crash time, disseminated to police and local news outlets. The day following the incident, law enforcement located the Prius in a forested area after a property owner reported a “suspicious vehicle” with front-end damage hidden behind trees and bushes. An empty wine bottle was also discovered near the car.
Florida Highway Patrol detectives confirmed the car’s involvement in the crash. Troopers then interviewed the car’s owner, who explained that he had lent it to his roommate, Nowlin, to pick up her daughter that evening. He mentioned that Nowlin failed to return the car and messaged him saying “something bad happened.”
Troopers also interviewed a man who was a passenger in the Prius. He said he felt the car hit something, but Nowlin told him it was a deer. It was only after the fact that he realized they had hit a person. He confirmed to troopers that Nowlin was driving, which was enough for them to arrest her.
Garlick grew up in Michigan before moving to the Sunshine State.
“Calvin was a happy-go-lucky man,” his obituary said. “He was a very hard worker and had various jobs in the hospitality business in Ludington, Grand Rapids and Pensacola.”
