She Killed a Man While Driving Drunk — Then Did It Again. Hear the Judge's Scathing Words as He Sentenced Her
During the crash, she was speeding at nearly 110 mph when her car flipped over after hitting a palm tree and utility pole
Carvajal's troubled past, including childhood sexual abuse, untreated trauma, and early alcohol use, was discussed in court, but the judge emphasized her repeated, fatal choices behind the wheelA Florida woman was sentenced to 67 years in prison on May 30 for driving drunk and causing a crash that killed her cousin and seriously injured two others in 2021.
A Hillsborough Circuit judge sentenced 28-year-old Jennifer Carvajal for the deadly crash, noting that at the time, she was on probation for causing a different crash that killed someone.
'She has now committed two acts of DUI and taken two people's lives,' Judge Greg Green said at Carvajal's sentencing hearing. 'It's almost as if instead of taking every step to avoid putting yourself in that situation again, you took affirmative steps to ensure that it happened.'
On April 25, 2021, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies witnessed Carvajal speeding in her silver Hyundai at nearly 110 mph on Interstate 4, according to a criminal affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
While attempting to exit the highway, Carvajal lost control and the car became airborne before colliding with a palm tree and a utility pole, the affidavit said. The crash caused the car to flip several times before landing upside down at a nearby car dealership.
Carvajal was transported to Tampa General Hospital with minor injuries and three passengers were transported with severe injuries. One man, Pedro Carvajal, who was Carvajal's cousin, was pronounced dead later around 1 p.m., the criminal affidavit said.
At the hospital, Florida Highway Patrol officers interviewed Carvajal where they noticed she was still impaired. According to the affidavit, she had glassy eyes, slurred speech, was having trouble staying awake and smelled like alcohol.
Authorities say that Carvajal's blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was 0.102, above the legal limit of 0.08.
Carvajal called Pedro's sister hours after the crash to ask her to tell the others that she wasn't the one driving the car, the Tampa Bay Times reported, citing authorities.
Carvajal was arrested on several driving under the influence charges with personal injury and vehicular homicide, according to her online arrest record. She did not get a life sentence but her sentence is double the 33 years suggested by the state, the Times reported.
In 2014, when Carvajal was 16, she killed a 52-year-old man after running a red light and plowing into his car while intoxicated, according to the outlet. She served four years in prison and was on probation at the time of the second fatal crash.
In court, and in the 2014 case, judges heard testimony about Carvajal's tumultuous childhood, during which she was sexually abused at 9 years old by male relatives, the Times reported. The abuse only came to light when she was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease.
Carvajal never received any mental health treatment, her attorney said, per the local outlet. She contemplated suicide, used broken glass to harm herself and at age 11, began drinking to cope with her trauma, according to the attorney.
During her May sentencing, Carvajal spoke quietly while addressing the court, with her face buried in her hair. 'No matter how many sorrys I say to each of you, or even him, I could never forgive myself,' she said.Family members of Pedro, the man who died in the crash, said in court that he was a loyal friend, a diligent worker and a devoted dad, per the Tampa Bay Times.
'There is a void in my heart,' Jazmin Lopez Dominguez, Pedro's mother, said in a statement to the court. 'The decision Jennifer made in that moment caused a lot of pain and suffering in our lives – and Julian who is growing up without knowing his father.'
Read the original article on People
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
16 hours ago
- Miami Herald
‘I'm still here.' Teen survives 240-foot ravine fall and coma after MO accident
Found alive after spending several days without food or water at the bottom of a Missouri ravine, Dakota 'Cody' Trenkle Jr's fight wasn't over. The 13-year-old boy, who was rescued from Goose Creek on July 30 after a skateboarding accident, has spent the last two weeks in a St. Louis hospital. 'We are actively fighting to try and get him stable, but all the cards are stacking against him,' his mother, Stephanie Neely, told People in an Aug. 6 interview. 'He is still not breathing on his own, and we have found another fracture on his skull, creating a massive soft spot on the right side of his head.' Many people referred to the teen's rescue as a miracle after he fell 240 feet down the ravine over a heavily vegetated area. Where he landed aided in his survival, Neely told People. She said the shade protected him 'from the direct sun,' and his location 'partially in the water' allowed his 'body temperature to stay cooler.' Still, the teen had a lot to overcome. On the Facebook group DakotaStrong, which has chronicled the 13-year-old's journey since being hospitalized, Neely said in an Aug. 5 update that her son suffered severe head trauma, including tearing or separation in his brain. He was also battling pneumonia and his entire body was covered in cuts and open wounds, according to his mom. In a medically induced coma, Dakota began showing signs of improvement Aug. 8 when he threw a ball with his physical therapist, according to KSDK. The next day, he signed 'I love you' to his mom. 'I cried. I started bawling,' Neely told KSDK. 'That was the sign I really needed… I could finally take a deep breath and finally got some sleep that night because, in my mom heart, I knew he was going to be OK.' Neely shared additional good news on Facebook Aug. 10 when she revealed that her son was finally off the ventilator. He remains 'in excruciating pain,' his mom said, but he managed to eat his first meal Aug. 11 — a burger and fries from Burger King. He'll remain in the ICU as he fights off infections and the effects of being in the coma, but Neely expects her son to continue fighting, according to KSDK. 'Just proving to all of us just truly how strong he is, how resilient, and how stubborn he is, which is honestly what saved his life,' she told the station. 'He wasn't going to give up. And he's like, 'I'm not just gonna lay here and die.' For him to finally come out of it two weeks after he went missing is huge. He's still proving to everyone, 'I'm fighting, I'm still here, I can survive.''
The Hill
a day ago
- The Hill
Ashley Biden files for divorce from husband of 13 years
Ashley Biden, the daughter of former President Biden and former first lady Jill Biden, filed for divorce on Monday from her husband, Dr. Howard Krein, after more than 13 years of marriage. Court documents show legal proceedings were filed against Krein in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. Moments after filing, Ashley Biden posted, 'New life, new beginnings means new boundaries. New ways of being that won't look or sound like they did before,' on Instagram with the background song set to 'Freedom Time' by Lauryn Hill. Details regarding the divorce were not disclosed as filings did not include details of the complaint. Ashley reportedly met Krein through her deceased brother, Beau Biden, and the two started dating in 2010. Two years later, Ashley Biden and the 58-year-old plastic surgeon and ear, nose and throat doctor married at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church, in Greenville, Delaware, as reported by PEOPLE. Ashley recounted their nuptials at the 2024 Democratic National Convention and discussed her father's final words before the two tied the knot. 'Before he walked me down the aisle, he turned to me and said he would always be my best friend. All these years later, Dad, you are still my best friend,' Ashley said.
USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Anna Delvey breaks silence after dumped bunnies social media backlash
Anna Delvey is breaking her silence after being accused of dumping multiple rabbits used during a photoshoot in New York City. The "Dancing with the Stars" alum and convicted con artist took to her Instagram Story on Aug. 11 to address now-viral claims that she left two rabbits that were found abandoned in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. The backlash follows Delvey posting a photo carousel with the pair of bunnies and a companion video last week on social media. Delvey explained that a person named Christian Batty, who she described as a "member of the hair team I briefly met" during fashion week last year, had said he "knew someone who could lend us bunnies for a few hours." "I later discovered that, instead of borrowing animals from a legitimate source like (Batty) claimed, he had obtained them via Facebook Marketplace and intended to release them into Prospect Park," Delvey wrote in a lengthy note to fans. "(It was) a plan of which I had no knowledge," Delvey continued. "The idea that someone would compromise the well-being of innocent animals for personal networking opportunities is deeply disturbing to me." In an Aug. 12 statement to USA TODAY, Delvey said that "I'm appalled, and frankly terrified, by the violent threats and hundreds of vile, harassing messages flooding my social media." "I've provided overwhelming proof of my innocence, yet nothing seems to satisfy the performatively outraged masses whose only real aim is to churn hate in my comments and DMs," Delvey added. USA TODAY also reached out to reps for Jasper Egan Soloff, a photographer who worked on the shoot. According to People and The New York Times, Batty released statements on since-deleted social media pages addressing the incident and saying "I felt overwhelmed and made the worst possible choice." 'Dancing With the Stars' Anna Delvey elimination episode received historic fan votes Delvey (aka Anna Sorokin) is the real-life subject of the Netflix series "Inventing Anna" from Shonda Rhimes and served a prison sentence for swindling banks, hotels, and rich friends with a false reputation as a wealthy German heiress. Delvey said on Instagram that she was "appalled by what transpired," adding that "it's not my job to source or return animals" as talent. "But as an animal lover, I can promise I will never work with them again without knowing exactly where they came from and how they're getting home," she added. "I do not eat meat, and I had no involvement in the acquisition, transport or return of these animals. I would never condone these actions." After Delvey posted the photoshoot on social media, vegan influencer Terry Chao said in a post that she noticed that the bunnies from the photo were the same ones she had helped with two neighbors after she saw that there were lost bunnies found in the New York City park in a local Facebook group. "Animals are not props, they are beautiful, living things that we need to honor and cherish," Chao added.
