Guadalupe Najera Santana (Photo: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)
POLK CITY, Fla. - A toddler was killed and a 5-year-old boy was seriously injured in an overnight DUI crash in Polk City, authorities said.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said the single-vehicle crash happened just after midnight Wednesday on Deen Still Road at Old Grade Road, about 10 miles north of Lake Alfred.
When deputies and Polk County Fire Rescue responded to the scene of the crash, first responders found a 22-month-old boy dead. The sheriff's office said the toddler had not been in a child safety seat and was ejected from the pickup truck.
According to the preliminary investigation, deputies said 30-year-old Guadalupe Najera Santana was driving the 2019 black Chevrolet pickup truck west on Deen Still Road when she reportedly lost control and crashed through a barbed-wire fence, then struck multiple pine trees.
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The impact killed the toddler at the scene and seriously injured a 5-year-old boy in the vehicle, leaving him with a fractured neck. First responders transported the child to the hospital. Deputies are still investigating to determine whether he was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Detectives at the scene determined that Najera Santana was impaired, and said they found multiple open and unopened containers of beer in and around the vehicle.
The sheriff's office said Najera Santana admitted to detectives that she had consumed several beers earlier in the evening. She was not injured in the crash.
"It is absolutely maddening, with so many other options available, that someone would choose to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs," Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "The result of this woman’s poor choice is the death of one child, and the very serious injury to another child."
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After she was arrested and brought to the sheriff's office processing center to be booked into jail, Najera Santana provided two breath samples. The first showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.141, while the second showed 0.139. The legal limit in Florida is 0.08.
Najera Santana lives in Polk City, but is originally from Mexico. The sheriff's office claimed she is in the U.S. on an expired work visa and said they notified US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The sheriff's office charged Najera Santana with multiple offenses including DUI manslaughter, DUI with serious bodily injury, DUI with property damage, and negligent child abuse. She is currently being held at the Polk County Jail.