By Tampa Bay Times Staff
Wyatt and Janice Folds woke up Thursday, Oct. 13, just moments before their house exploded.
They put the morning coffee on. Wyatt Folds was just 10 steps behind his wife, Janice Folds.
Then a band. Dust settled. A pickup truck sat in their kitchen.
Somewhere in the debris was Janice Folds. The 76-year-old woman died on impact, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. She and Rev. Wyatt Folds had been married for 53 years.
The driver who rammed the Folds' home was identified as Ryan Tallent, 24, of Plant City. He already has a 2009 DUI arrest on his record in Hillsborough County. Now he faces charges that include DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said outside the Folds' home.
"What Ryan Tallent did with his recklessness changed the life of this beautiful family forever, and through the criminal justice system, we plan to change Ryan Tallent's life, Judd said.
Judd said investigators believe Tallent came down Fitzgerald Road at a "horrific speed" before he slammed into the Folds home at 5404 Orange Valley Drive around 4:45 a.m. Tire marks on the roadway and nearby lawns show the truck swerved uncontrollably.
The sheriff said, Tallent's black pickup plowed through the front of the Folds' one-story home, first going through the guest bedroom, then the dining room, before finally stopping in the kitchen.
Tallent climbed out of his truck, Judd said, and tried to leave. He told Waytt Folds, a retired pastor of the Redeemer Church of Lakeland, he needed to go to the home of a family nearby.
Three neighbors rushed in to keep the driver from fleeing, Judd said. Tallent refused to give a blood sample to test his blood-alcohol level, Judd said, but "miserably failed" a field sobriety test.
Hillsborough County records show Tallent has had traffic infractions and citations going back to 2008, when he was 16.
In 2009, Tallent was arrested on DUI charges after a crash that caused property damage and bodily injury. He pleaded no contest the following year and was found guilty, according to state driving records. In 2013, he was convicted of careless driving after a crash.
Tallent told deputies he was driving 40 mph — something Judd said was "absolutely unbelievable." Investigators believe he started swerving 400 to 500 feet up the road before hitting the house.
Janice Folds was "simply in her own house," Judd said, her "sanctuary."
Friends described her as soft-spoken and strong-willed. She worked as a secretary for the church she and her husband helped found a decade ago. She was meticulously organized, always writing everything down. She left candy and notes of encouragement for church staff.
When the church fell on hard times and could no longer afford a sound director, she gave up her salary and worked for free. A stroke three years ago didn't stop her from volunteering long hours.
"Jan is probably the most godly woman I've met in my life," said Redeemer Pastor David Martin. "A woman of great encouragement and peace and love."
She was constantly on the phone with members, asking them how she could pray for them. She checked in on members who missed Sunday service, even those who had moved away. Yet those members would return to the church to ask for Janice Folds' advice, said Redeemer music minister Topher Hodges.
Sometimes, she would simply say, "You already know what to do," he said.
"Her spirit just radiates Christ, and it was impossible to be upset when you were around her," Hodges said.
The night before Janice Folds died, Hodges said she read her daily devotion with her husband, prayed for her two children and two granddaughters and a church member about to undergo surgery.
"She really taught me to love others no matter what and would have been the first person to forgive that young man, put her arm around him and say, 'What's going on in your life that we can talk to God about?'" Hodges said.
Judd was not so forgiving.
"I'm angry beyond words," Judd said.