A Florida mother of three was killed by a suspected drunk driver who police said was close to five times over the legal limit for alcohol consumption, RadarOnline.com has learned.
At around 10 AM on May 21, Tiffany Alexander, 29,was driving in Winter Springs with her 9-month-old and 4-year-old daughters when her Honda was T-boned by a Toyota that sped through a red light, according to local police.
The driver of the Toyota, Winter Springs woman Asnubil Escobar, 25, was taken into custody at the scene.
Alexander was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, the Seminole County Fire Department told WKMG-TV. Police also said in a press release that the "horrific crash...took the life of wife and mother of three, Tiffany Alexander," adding that they had determined through their investigation that "Escobar was utterly responsible" for Alexander's death.
The 4-year-old, who had been in a booster seat, suffered minor injuries and passed out as Alexander's friend removed her from the car. No injuries were reported to the 9-month-old, and Alexander's third child, a 7-year-old girl, was not with her mom during the incident.
“She had her two kids in the backseat. They are OK, thank God," Winter Springs Police Chief Matthew Tracht said at a press conference on Thursday, "This accident could have been totally prevented.”
Tracht said Escobar had a blood alcohol content of 0.38, which is well over the legal limit of 0.08.
"I don't know anybody in this room, if we'd be standing at a 0.38. I don't know how she was driving it at 0.38," he said, expressing disbelief, "It boggles my mind."
The chief also said Escobar had been traveling faster than the posted speed limit of 50 MPH, but officials were still working to determine her exact speed.
"It seems like everybody is trying to get somewhere fast these days, and not taking into consideration everybody else on the road," Chief Tracht said.
He explained that Escobar was "late for work and she was going back to work," and that she was a bartender.
"She did tell us her last alcoholic drinks were about 1:30 in the morning," Tracht added.
Escobar was booked into county jail on multiple charges, including vehicular DUI homicide and causing injury while driving drunk, according to jail records.
“Our police department offers our sincere condolences and sympathy to the Alexander family and cannot even imagine what they are trying to process,” officials said.
Tracht said he had spoken with Alexander's husband, who was "in shock."
"His wife and the mother of the three kids do not have a mother anymore, so he's going to deal with that," the police chief said, "It's very emotional. I can't think of anybody that would be sitting here, standing here right now, wanting to go through what he's going through."
A GoFundMe page was set up to help Alexander's family "with the unexpected financial burdens that accompany such a tragedy as well as [to] contribute to a fund for her daughters' future education," the description states. As of Friday afternoon, it had brought in about $67k of its $100k goal.