DWI Mom's Daughter: Stepdad Let Her Mom Drive Before Fatal Crash

Alleged DWI driver's daughter Brittany Gonzalez speaks to WCBS 2

So sad: The daughter of the woman who allegedly drove drunk, crashing a car full of young girls on the West Side Highway and killing one, told WCBS 2 about the horrifying crash. The 1998 Mercury Sable, which was overloaded with driver Carmen Huertas and seven girls, overturned and then crashed into a tree; Huertas' 11-year-old daughter Brittany Gonzalez said, "All three girls in the back just flew out when the trunk popped open because it just popped open when we flipped once. My friend's seatbelt snapped. Leandra Rosado just flew out and she was the one in the woods."

Leandra Rosado, 11, died after the crash (a wake is being held for her today and tomorrow); Huertas, who was driving the girls from Chelsea back to the Bronx for a sleepover, was charged with vehicular manslaughter and DWI. Little Brittany, speaking from her father's home in Chelsea, also said her stepfather Eduardo Henriquez let her mom drive—"He didn't do anything. He just took the baby and left."

Brittany's father and Huertas' ex Ernesto Gonzalez added that he noticed Huertas' condition—"She wasn't like drunk to the point of incapacitated, but I knew that the amount of liquor she drank, it was gonna hit her, it was gonna hit her sooner or later. It was gonna hit her especially on an empty stomach"— and told Henriquez about it, "He told me he had it. He said, 'I got it don't worry."

Ernesto Gonzalez also said that Henriquez prevented two other children (besides the baby) from getting into the five-passenger Sable, "There would've been three more kids in that car. He wasn't [thinking]. Nobody was. The fault is on everybody, you can't just blame one person... I didn't step up, you know, I'm sorry. I apologize to everybody from the bottom of my heart, you know?"

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By Jen Chung in News on October 14, 2009 10:16 AM

Comments [rss]

mellow_fellow

Wait a minute, three of the girls in the Sable were riding in the trunk?!?!

hubcap

was it the SUV version perhaps? it would explain the rolling part, and the "trunk" door would be the entire back wall of the vehicle ..

jaycjay

Right, it was a station wagon. Post-crash pic is here:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/10/11/2009-10-11_mom_was_legally_drunk_in_crash_that_killed_11yearold_girl_say_cops.html

JenChungsBaby

This entire crew needs to do one thing if they know what's good for them, and that is to shut the fuck up! But apparently they're not very good at knowing what's good for them.

Cranky Old Man

I am outraged! This child needs a psychologist, NOT a TV reporter shoving a mic and a camera into her face. Does anyone else see what's wrong here? Does anyone else think this just crosses the line? I can just see the prick reporter trying to coax out all of the gory details. Who is in charge of this child? Why are they allowing some TV news outlet to exploit her. Is WCBS going to care one iota if this kid develops serious psychological problems? Are they gonna do a followup on her? Where are her guardians?

sexisicilian

Her "guardian" was the car pool mom driving drunk!!

theevilone

The same geniuses who let her get in a car with a drunk mother. She doesn't have any one with functioning brain cells looking out for her.