TAVARES, Fla. – A 19-year-old faces DUI manslaughter charges after running over a 2-year-old on a tricycle Monday in a gated Tavares neighborhood, according to an arrest affidavit.
Tavares police said they responded around 7:18 p.m. to the Oak Bend neighborhood in reference to a child who had been struck by a vehicle.
A neighbor who called 911 stated that a silver Toyota Tacoma was speeding down the street before it hit the child. They also told dispatchers that the child was receiving CPR by a neighbor and the driver of the truck was still at the scene and appeared to be “intoxicated.”
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According to the affidavit, arriving officers observed the driver of the truck – identified as Joshua Aidan Montero – standing with crews from the Tavares Fire Department and Lake County EMS.
The mother of the child who was struck told officers that she and her husband were standing in their driveway as their children were riding their bikes in the street in front of the house. The woman said that she heard and observed the truck speeding as it turned onto a road in their neighborhood.
According to the affidavit, the woman and her husband “began yelling at the vehicle to slow down” when the truck continued toward the cul-de-sac at the end of the street.
Police said the couple’s 2-year-old was riding a blue toddler tricycle on the eastbound side of the road when the child struck by the truck driven by Montero. After striking the child, the vehicle “appeared to drag the child and bicycle” a few feet before the truck came to a stop.
A witness told police that they believed the front tires of the truck completely ran over the child, according to the affidavit.
Officials said the Oak Bend neighborhood is a closed, gated community and the street where the crash occurred is a “short, dead-end street where families felt safe for their children to be able to play under their supervision.”
Police said that Montero, who was sitting on the sidewalk, had a “strong odor of alcohol emitted from him.”
According to the affidavit, police noted that the odor was not coming from his clothing as he was not wearing a shirt or shoes, only a pair of swim trunks. Officers noted as Montero spoke, the odor of alcohol from his breath became stronger. Officers also noted Montero had bloodshot, glassy eyes.
Montero initially declined to participate in field sobriety exercises despite being told he would be arrested for DUI based on the indicators officers observed, according to a second officer at the scene. After agreeing to the field exercises, Montero was arrested for DUI based on the “many indicators of impairment being observed.”
According to the affidavit, once at the jail Montero consented to a breath sample which came back at .062 and .057, which is considered over the limit since he is under the legal age to drink. Police also stated that that based on the multiple hours that passed from the time of the incident and the breath sample, they believe his alcohol level was higher at the time of the crash.
Police said they were then informed that the child died at the hospital and they informed Montero he would then be charged with DUI manslaughter.
Montero is being held without bond.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe has been set up to support the 2-year-old’s family. To donate, click here.
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