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Woman Arrested In Suspected DWI Crash, 11-Year-Old Dead
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 12, 2009
Modified Oct 12, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 12, 2009
Modified Oct 12, 2009
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Early Sunday morning, a Bronx woman driving a 1998 Mercury Sable—carrying seven children, including her daughter, ages 11 to 14—crashed and overturned her car on the West Side Highway. An 11-year-old girl was killed and the Daily News reports, "Investigators said Carmen Huertas' blood-alcohol content was more than one and a half times the legal limit." Huertas, 31, was charged with vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving. The girl's father said, "I call this murder."
Huertas had been driving the overpacked car (many of the girls were not wearing seatbelts) from a party in Chelsea back to her home for a sleepover. According to the News, "She failed a Breathalyzer test at the scene and her blood was drawn at the hospital later, sources said. Her sedan swerved off the highway near the W. 96th St. exit, flipped over and rolled several times before slamming into a tree, police said."
Leandra Rosado, 11, a friend of Huertas' daughter, was killed after the crash and her father Lenny Rosado expressed his outrage to NY1, "She wasn't a responsible adult, responsible individual and a responsible parent, she wasn't...Her actions led to me losing my daughter and I hate to say while all the other seven ones lived, it took my daughter and I'm very mad about that, very mad."
The Post also says that, according to one of the car's passengers, Huertas jokingly asked the girls, "Who thinks something's gonna happen? Raise your hand. Who thinks we're gonna get into an accident?" And apparently all the girls raised their hands. One, 14-year-old Yismel Rosario, described the crash, "The car started swerving back and forth. I was like, 'Oh, my God!' Then it flipped over. Gisele, Kayla and Leandra flew out of the car. Their eyes were closed. I got out of the car and went to my sister, [Gisele]. I held her and said, 'If you can hear me, nod your head.' I told her it would be OK, that help is on the way." Gisele Rosario broke both legs and also underwent back surgery; one other girl was critically injured while the five others and Huertas suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Rosado said that his daughter had spent Friday night at Huertas' home and called him on Saturday to ask if she could spend another night, because she was having such a good time with Huertas' daughter Brittney Gonzales. The NY Times reports, "On Saturday, Leandra returned to Chelsea to pick up a change of clothes. That night Mr. Rosado dropped her off at an apartment on West 20th Street about 8 p.m. 'I gave her money, and she hugged me and said, "I love you, Dad," ' he said Sunday morning, wiping away a tear." He added that there needed to be stricter DWI penalties, "New York City, New York State, they need to get tough with this."
Tagged
Carmen Huertas
crash
drunk driving
dwi
fatal DWI
Leanda Rosado
vehicular manslaughter
west side highway
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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