Police in California say a mother was found intoxicated inside a vehicle beside the body of her 3-year-old daughter. Sandra Hernandez-Cazares, 42, reportedly passed out September 6 in a Ford Expedition near the family's apartment in Anaheim. Her daughter, Illy Ruiz, was also in the hot car and appears to have died due to the extreme temperature.
According to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Hernandez-Cazares' family began looking for her when they received a call from her 5-year-old son's school stating no one had picked up the boy from school. Tragically, by the time they got to the mother's car, Illy was dead.
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The family tried to save Illy.
According to the news release, when family members found Hernandez-Cazares and Illy inside the car, the temperature was more than 104 degrees. Family members broke one of the SUV's windows and attempted life-saving measures on the child but were unable to revive her. The mother was rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Hernandez-Cazares' blood alcohol level was allegedly extremely high.
Hernandez-Cazares’ blood alcohol level was .30, nearly four times the legal limit of .08, per the news release. She allegedly had several empty alcohol bottles inside the car when she was found. Doctors estimate the child had been dead several hours before they discovered the pair in the locked car in the extreme heat.
The mother was an advocate for safe driving.
The district attorney's office reported Hernandez-Cazares' 5-year-old and 9-year-old sons were killed by a drunk driver in 2012 while they were sleeping in a tent on a family vacation in South Dakota. After the horrific accident, the mother and her husband, Juan Ruiz, lobbied for stronger penalties for driving under the influence in North Dakota.
The mother faces a lengthy jail sentence.
Hernandez-Cazares was charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse, causing significant bodily injury, both felonies. She is being held on a $150,000 bond. She could spend up to 12 years in prison if convicted, per the district attorney's office.
"The unimaginable pain of having your 5-year-old and 9-year-old sons killed by a drunk driver is something from which you can never recover," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer shared in the news release. "Anyone who has suffered such a devastating tragedy knows the ripple effects of grief may be able to be hidden, but the heartbreak of losing your children will never go away. A mother who was robbed of the chance to see two of her sons grow up because of the selfish decision of a stranger will have to live with the fact she will never get to see her little girl grow up because of the choices she made."
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The family created a GoFundMe account for Illy's father.
Cousin Nancy Salamanca created the fundraiser, explaining Juan Ruiz needed assistance moving from Texas to California to care for his young son. Illy's death was a shock and the family is devastated.
"We don't wish this excruciating pain upon anyone, and any person who knows ILY's father Juan recognizes he has already suffered so much loss even previous to this. Please find it in your heart to continue to help them in anyway you can. This should have never happened to his innocent little girl," she wrote on the page. "It is so overwhelmingly painful to hear the accounts of what occurred. It's been unbearable and hard to wrap our minds around. We have to unite behind Juan and the family. Thank you all for being there for Juan, his son, and all of us. We are moved beyond words. We love you."
The fundraiser has brought in nearly $15,000 of a $25,000 goal thus far.
