Hernando County Driver Surrenders Facing DUI Manslaughter, Child Neglect Charges

A violent head-on collision on Sunshine Grove Road in Spring Hill on the evening of December 19, 2024, killed a 41-year-old Spring Hill woman and seriously injured at least one child, county records show. The crash involved a Nissan carrying the victims and a 2014 Honda Odyssey that investigators say crossed the center line and struck the Nissan head-on.

Joel James Broussard, 36, who authorities say was driving the 2014 Honda Odyssey, surrendered to the Hernando County Detention Center on Tuesday and is being held without bond, jail records indicate. “According to court records, Broussard is now formally charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI causing serious bodily injury, DUI causing personal injury, and neglect of a child causing great bodily harm, disability, or disfigurement.”

Investigators and witnesses described sobriety testing at the scene the night of the crash. “Witnesses at the scene of the crash say they observed Troopers conducting sobriety exams with Broussard, but that he was not taken into custody that evening,” court summaries state. Investigators later determined “Broussard was later determined to have a BAC of 0.199,” according to records filed with the court.

Roughly 14 months elapsed between the December 19, 2024 crash and Broussard’s surrender the week of Feb. 22–27, 2026; reporting published Feb. 27, 2026, described the case as reaching formal charging in late February. Jail records list Broussard as in custody at the Hernando County Detention Center in Spring Hill and held without bond pending further court action; specific arraignment dates and docket numbers were not included in the charging summary available with the court record excerpts.

The criminal complaint’s inclusion of a neglect-of-a-child count cites alleged harm to at least one child described as “seriously injured” in the Nissan. The court phrasing — neglect of a child causing great bodily harm, disability, or disfigurement — signals an aggravated child-related allegation in the charging document, though no victim names or ages for the child or the deceased woman were released in the records provided.

Separate crash summaries included in law enforcement materials from another state are unrelated to the Spring Hill collision. Louisiana State Police summaries describe a December 5, 2024, two-vehicle crash on Louisiana Highway 18 that “ultimately claimed the life of 20-year-old Shonta’jia Gibson of Prairieville,” and a December 17, 2024, Lafourche Parish crash that “ultimately claimed the life of 78-year-old Herman Hall of Thibodaux.” The LSP material also notes, “This crash remains under investigation, and Troopers are working to gather more information about the passing vehicle and its driver,” and records state, “The drivers of the Cadenza and Sorento, along with Hall, the front passenger in the Sorento, were properly restrained, sustained moderate injuries, and were transported to an out-of-area hospital for treatment.” Those Louisiana incidents are separate from the Sunshine Grove Road fatality and involve different jurisdictions.

Broussard remains in custody at the Hernando County Detention Center on the charges listed in court records; booking logs and the charging affidavit will be needed to confirm arraignment scheduling, forensic test type for the reported 0.199 BAC, and the names and medical status of the victims.