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California Mom Who Pushed for Tougher DUI Laws Charged in Daughter's Hot Car Death
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By News
Published 9 months ago on
September 11, 2024

Tragic irony unfolds as a mother who advocated for stricter DUI laws faces charges in her daughter's heat-related death. (Shutterstock)

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A California mother who advocated for tougher DUI laws after losing two sons to a drunk driver now faces charges in her daughter’s death.

Sandra Hernandez-Cazares, 42, was found unconscious in her SUV with her deceased 3-year-old daughter on a sweltering day in Anaheim, NBC News reported Tuesday.

Blood Alcohol Count Four Times the Legal Limit

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office reports that Hernandez-Cazares had a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit when discovered by relatives. They had been alerted after her 5-year-old son wasn’t picked up from school.

“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,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.

Hernandez-Cazares faces charges including involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment. If convicted, she could serve up to 12 years in prison.

The tragedy comes after Hernandez-Cazares lost two sons in 2012 when a drunk driver ran over their tent during a family vacation. Following this incident, she lobbied for stricter DUI penalties in the state Legislature.

Spitzer added, “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.”

The toddler, who had been locked in the vehicle as temperatures reached 104 degrees, was pronounced dead at the scene despite resuscitation attempts.

Read more at NBC News

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