On Friday, March 27 a lawsuit was filed in San Diego federal court on behalf of three very young siblings who sustained injuries in a head-on crash on November 12, 2018. The suit is being filed against the children’s mother, who was driving the car while intoxicated.
Mayra Alejandra Gonzalez, 30, drove on the wrong side of Camino del Norte and smashed into another vehicle head-on. The driver of the other car was injured as a result of the crash. Gonzalez had a blood alcohol content of .29% after the crash, which is more than three times the legal limit.
Her three children sustained significant injuries from the incident. Her 9-month-old daughter was not in the proper child safety seat during the crash, but instead was being held by one of her sisters. When the accident took place she was thrust into the vehicle’s windshield and sustained a skull fracture and brain bleed. The young child still requires a feeding tube. Gonzalez’s two other daughters, aged 2 and 8, had facial injuries.
The suit alleges negligence and many other allegations against Gonzalez, San Diego County, and three social workers. The suit claims that the county was negligent in preventing Mayra from continuing to drive drunk, which she had done many times before the November 12th crash. She had a documented history of drunk driving, and social workers employed at the county’s Health and Human Services Agency were aware of her reckless behavior but ignored it, which put the children in immense danger.
There were four incidents in which Gonzalez was inebriated when she was driving with at least one of her children as a passenger in the car. Three were crashes that law enforcement and HHSA knew about. A crash in 2015 recorded her BAC at .26% and social workers indicated that services were necessary to assist Gonzalez and protect her children. However, no services or plan was made available and she was not required to attend substance abuse classes or parenting classes.
In 2016, she was driving drunk while pregnant and while her 5-year-old daughter was in the car. She caused another DUI crash which resulted in her arrest. She was charged with a felony and was sentenced to five years of probation. Even though social workers considered her a high risk to the safety of her children, they did nothing to intervene and help.
Gonzalez pled guilty to felony child abuse and DUI from the November 12th crash. She is currently serving her 14-year sentence in state prison.
Get the Help of a California DUI Defense Attorney Today
If you have questions about your drunk driving arrest it is important to speak with a knowledgeable California DUI defense attorney for the answers you need about your case and your future. Call the Law Offices of David M. Boertje today. We offer all prospective clients a completely free consultation. Our Carlsbad criminal defense lawyers are here to speak with you at (619) 229-1870 for our San Diego office or (760) 476-0901 for our Carlsbad location.