Drunk mom found passed out in car as 3-year-old died inside on 104-degree day: authorities
A California mom allegedly passed out drunk in her car as her 3-year-old daughter died in the back in 104-degree weather, according to authorities.
Sandra Hernandez, 42, had several bottles of alcohol in her Ford Expedition when a relative found her and her daughter inside it Friday in scorching weather in Anaheim, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Both were rushed to a nearby hospital, where Hernandez’s daughter Ily Ruiz was pronounced dead from suspected heat stroke, police told the outlet.
The mom — who previously lost two sons, ages 5 and 9, when a drunk driver plowed into their tent on a camping trip — was passed out inside the SUV with a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit, according to KTLA.
Authorities do not suspect it was an attempted murder-suicide and charged the mom with involuntary manslaughter and child neglect. She faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
The girl’s grieving dad, Juan Ruiz, told the Daily Mail that his estranged wife turned to drinking while suffering from depression — stating that he hated her even though he was certain it was a tragic accident.
“I told her family that she needed help but nobody listened to me,” Ruiz said.
“In my heart, it was not done intentionally, but it doesn’t change the fact that she did it,” he said.
“I am angry … I’m angry at her family for not listening to me,” he said.
“I hate her so much right now. I hate her and I feel bad for her. I hate her, and I feel sorry for her. And, I hate the fact that it happened, the way that my baby died.”
Still, he stressed: “I am angry but I am trying to be clear-minded here and tell you guys that she would never do this on purpose.
“Sandy’s a good mom. She would never do this on purpose. She would never hurt her baby,” he told the outlet.
“We already lost two babies,” he said of the boys they lost during the 2012 camping trip in North Dakota.
After that tragedy, the dad lobbed for stronger penalties for driving under the influence. He and Hernandez would go on to have two more children, a son named Lazarus, now 5, and their daughter Ily Elizabeth.
“She was my only girl. I never expected to have a girl,” he said of his latest lost child. “I named her ILY -which stands for ‘I love you.’
Hernandez is currently being held on $150,000 bail.
