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A two-year-old boy was struck and killed by a teenage suspected drunk driver on Labor Day while the toddler was riding his trike outside his home.
The boy's parents were watching their children ride bikes in the cul-de-sac in front of their house in Tavares, Florida, at around 7.15pm on Monday evening, according to an arrest affidavit seen by Fox 35.
While playing, police said a Toyota Tacoma came barreling down the road.
The husband and wife reportedly yelled at the pickup truck in an effort to get the driver to slow down, but saw in horror as their toddler was mowed down, according to authorities.
The truck’s front tire ran over the two-year-old before the vehicle appeared to drag him and his trike for a few feet, Fox 35 reported.
The vehicle eventually came to a stop in the road and the family’s neighbors rushed over, administering CPR on the boy until first responders arrived.
The little boy was rushed to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.
Joshua Montero, 19, was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter.
Tavares Police said officers on the scene noticed a “strong odor of alcohol” on the 19-year-old suspect’s breath, and that he had “bloodshot glassy eyes.”
He was detained and transported to the Lake County Jail, where police said he failed a sobriety test, as he is under the national age of drinking, with a breath sample giving results of .062 percent and .057 percent.
While this is not above the legal limit of .08 percent, the affidavit reportedly noted that hours had passed between the collision and when Montero was tested.
He is now being held without bond at Lake County Jail and is due in court later this month,
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the nonprofit “leader in a movement to create a world where there are #NoMoreVictims of impaired driving,” had predicted a surge in impaired driving collisions over the Labor Day weekend, noting in a press release that driving fatalities have increased by 33 percent since 2019.
The Independent has contacted Tavares Police Department for further details on the ongoing investigation.
