JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Only Action News Jax is hearing from the sisters of Tara Shaw, the woman Jacksonville Beach Police say died in a DUI motorcycle crash on the night of May 17th.
Action News Jax told you last month when Jax Beach police put out an arrest warrant for Robin McAlarney, charging him with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide and naming him as the driver of the motorcycle. At the time, Jax Beach PD told us they didn’t know where McAlarney was and said they were only able to file charges against him more than five months after the crash because of how long the investigation took.
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But then Action News Jax learned on Monday that U.S. Marshals had arrested McAlarney in Philadelphia. Tara Shaw’s sisters said they’ve been waiting most of this year for an arrest after her death.
“It was like a weight lifted off of my chest, and I got chills,” said Amanda Gross, one of Shaw’s sisters.
The incident report of the crash said that Shaw and McAlarney had met up with one another outside “The Tavern” bar on 1st Street in Jacksonville Beach. The report said McAlarney had left his home with no notice after a fight with his girlfriend, and he took Shaw for a ride after seeing her standing outside of the bar.
Police believe McAlarney was driving the motorcycle 90 miles per hour down 3rd Street when officers said he swerved around a car making a left turn, then ran into the back of another car near the intersection of St. Augustine Boulevard.
“He was a very dangerous person that should have never been free to begin with,” said Amber Gross, Shaw’s other sister, who told us Shaw and McAlarney had been talking with one another for a few months leading up to the crash.
Shaw’s sisters tell Action News Jax they had spoken with her not long before she had taken the ride that ended her life.
“It’s been really hard,” Amber Gross said, “she’s our sister, so we’re never going to be the same. We just have to adjust to our new normal.”
Jax Beach PD told us it is working on getting McAlarney extradited back to Duval County to face the charges against him in the deadly crash. Pennsylvania law says he could end up sitting in Philadelphia jail for the next 30 days while waiting on the state’s governor to sign off on his transfer back to Florida.
Philadelphia court records show McAlarney is scheduled for a preliminary court hearing on December 12th.
Shaw’s sisters said they’re planning to travel from their home in Augusta, Georgia, to Jacksonville just to see McAlarney in court.
“We would like to tell the court and Robin McAlarney what he stole from us,” Amanda Gross said.
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