Melissa Nichols Changed Lanes
Filed under: Drunk Driving, Manslaughter, Murder, Suspicious Death, Vehicular Homicide
Placerville, CA - At first, it just looked like a terrible accident. On Thursday night, Melissa Nicole Nichols, 23, hit her boyfriend’s motorcycle in a bizarre collision.  Anthony James Payne was driving towards Nichols’ car when she veered into his lane and struck him head-on. Payne, 23, was thrown about 200 feet and died at the scene.  Nichols was kinda drunk, and it appeared that she’d just drifted into his lane. All the way into his lane.  You see where this one’s going already, don’t you?
Melissa Nichols suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital overnight. On Friday she was released from the hospital and was booked into the El Dorado County Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and drunken driving resulting in bodily injury. The whole thing initially looked like a horrible, fatal mistake.
Until police started talking to witnesses.  At least one person put Melissa and Anthony near an intersection where there were, apparently, words exchanged. After the discussion the couple left on two different roads, but at some point Anthony Payne made a turn and ended up heading back toward Melissa’s car. When Anthony’s motorcycle was within range of Melissa’s car, she drove into his lane and hit her boyfriend head-on, killing him. One witness was with Nichols at the time of the crash, and police gathered enough evidence from that witness and others to pursue a murder charge.
Melissa Nicole Nichols is now being held in the El Dorado County Jail on suspicion of homicide.
This topic was submitted via our forums by Wends - thanks!
How solid are the threats. Are there any solid witnesses there or are we only in the rumor phase. Someone will confirm any threats now that its public if there real. How long have they been broken up? Dude has a fiancee already and I thought this was a fresh break-up?!
Well then she’ll be able to state her point of view in court than won’t she Lauren. Either way, he’s dead because of her actions. As for his past and him being on parole, I knew some people like him too. Some people get mixed up with the wrong people, some get addicted to drugs and it takes the criminal justice system (and sometimes prison ) to set them straight.
He’ll never have a chance to prove himself to society will he. And I personally don’t care that your friend had no record prior to this. I’d say running someone over while drunk pretty much negates that.
At worst, she’s someone who decided to get boozed up and whoever got hurt too bad. At worst she’s a murderer.
Either way, Anthony is dead because of her and no matter what his past, he didn’t deserve to die.
If he had been at a stop, he would have still been rendered dead.
(I so wanted to say “at a dead stop” but that seemed a bit like overkill)
Lauren, now that you have calmed down, I actually kind of like you. The problem is, I can’t read your mind. When you start tossing out “She’s good” and “He’s no good”, the only logical inference I can draw is that you think he deserved it somehow.
I get what you’re saying about the relationship. Some are like that. But why bother with such a guy? You mention all kind of bad things about him… yet this supposedly good person was dating him so he could not have been all that bad OR she was not all that good (doesn’t really matter)
His history has nothing to do with it. His actions that night don’t seem to either… officials aren’t lessening her charges because he was any way in fault or calling it an accident. She still killed him.
She knew she was drinking. She knew she was driving. She knew it was illegal. She knew she was not the only person on the planet. She knew it was dangerous. What is sad, is that she knew who she killed.
Tell the truth, had no one been killed, you would be poking fun at her for her getting a big ol’ head scrape for being so stupid.
I never said anybody deserved to die. I’m just saying she isn’t the only one in the wrong. As far as people saying that previous to this she had been threatening anything……is stupid…..I don’t think he would be hanging out with her that day if that was the case. Plus of course people are going to say that now that he’s dead and she’s to blame……which one of his friends wouldn’t want to lie to make things 10 times worse for her. People are drama and make stuff up.
Oh Dakota….I can’t help but like you back…..these threads are really addicting….lol…..My one and only point……I don’t think she would ever ever ever try and cold hearted on purpose murder him or anyone else on purpose……..She made a horrible horrible mistake to drive drunk and some of you would say she murdered him with that fact alone….I am saying I don’t believe she was in her car and said I am going to run him down and kill him…..that is just not her…..and I do know her. I have never seen her act crazy in the 5 years that I have known her…..it would just be out of her character from my perspective.Aight…
That’s why I was asking. Nothing more has been in the news - not even to say the “kill him” comments were rumors. So I asked.
And as for “she isn’t the only one in the wrong” - it does NOT make it any more right. He’s dead, she was the one with the weapon.
If she had NOT been drinking and driving, it would not have happened - no matter what he was doing (short of jumping in front of her car). So it doesn’t matter.
Sooo… had no one been killed, you would be poking fun at her for her getting a big ol’ head scrape for being so stupid? What is it with the braids on those women? Would you feel different about her if it was your fiancee she killed?
Welcome to the site, Lauren. Had your first series of posts been more like that one, we could have had a much different series of exchanges last night.
Yeah I guess no matter who it was if it was a family member of mine I would want them to pay to the fullest……My fiance asked me the same exact thing. I guess it is hard to put yourself in that frame of mind until it really is you or someone you love……the only point of view I can see it from is someone who knew her. If it was any other forum I would be talking so much shit…because of the fact that I don’t know of them. I just think it is a tragedy that Melissa made a stupid decision that caused a horrible accident…..do I think she is a horrible person…..no. I think everybody makes mistakes in life and sometimes there is no excuse and no going back. Sorry, I don’t think she is a monster…..
you can be good people, Love sickness can make you do really strange hurtful and dumb stuff. Somewhere I posted where I threathened to run my car into the telephone pole next to my first loves drive way because my b/f decided he would rather spend the day with his cousin (that lived downstairs and seen him all the time) riding motorcycles then spend my day off work with me. I knew the difference between right and wrong and knew. I would only be hurting myself … it was my car duh… But still the emotions were very real … (I remember his mother standing on the sidwalk watching like it was just yesterday) It is very easy to lose your marbles when your hurtin from love sickness…
Dumb fucking ass move on melissa’s part…
This Melissa Nichols bitch still killed her friend and I might not of been there. I do believe they have the right person charged for the muder !!!
I too am thankful that her friend in the car didn’t die as well … Whew
Poor Guy … RIP
Wonder, yeah it was a dumb ass fucking move on Melissa’s part to drive after she’d been drinking that night. But, come on lets all be honest here. Who of us haven’t driven at one time or another after we’d been drinking? Even if we knew we shouldn’t have, even driving after lets say having only one drink. It was a horrible accident, she knows it. If any of you know her, you also know just how much she adored Anthony, there wasn’t anything that she wouldn’t do for him, or even for her friends for that matter! She’s not a bitch, she’s not a murderer. The only thing that she’s guilty of that night, is getting in her car and driving.
http://www.dui1.com/Dui_Lawyers_Driving8.htm
DUI & Murder
DUI that causes death may, in special cases, be charged as murder. In the most extreme cases, it may even be charged as murder in the first degree. First-degree murder requires a showing of malice, usually found when the defendant acts in utter recklessness or wantonness.
It is stated that malice for the purpose of DUI murder are acts by the defendant that represents conscious disregard for human life, that the defendant knew his conduct was dangerous to others and had blatant disregard for any damage he/she caused. The defendant’s treatment history for alcoholism can be brought before the court as evidence that the defendant knew his/her conduct was dangerous and sought treatment before driving drunk again, when the death occurred.
In most DUI murder convictions, malice is inferred from the defendant’s handling a weapon that may cause death. In the case of a drunk driver, it is said that the mere driving of a car on the road demonstrates the defendant handled a dangerous weapon.
Yeah, what happened was Tony’s body was thrown thru the windshield and hit the girl in the passenger seat’s face, breaking the bones in her face. This happened down the road from my home…
It doesn’t matter who’s driven drunk or not in here, what matters is that it’s illegal and it kills thousands, and injures even more… meaning that if YOU choose to drive drunk and YOU kill someone, then YOU must pay for it!!
So, I’m pretty sure that if YOU are driving drunk and swerve into the lane your exboyfriend is driving in, whether you meant to hit him or not, that is perfect enough evidence to convince the world that you’re a murderer.
Oh man, she broke all the bones in her face. She is not likely to be a friendly witness in court.
The scene was absolutely gruesome to be honest, luckily I saw the scene a while after. There’s still his blood stains on the road… I don’t mean to start another rumor, but I’m not quite sure she lived as well…?