Driver in deadly DUI crash that killed cousin to be sentenced Friday
The Brief
Jennifer Carvajal is expected to be sentenced on Friday.
She was the driver in a 2021 crash that killed her cousin and injured multiple other passengers.
Carvajal pleaded guilty in February to the charges, including DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide.
TAMPA, Fla. - The woman who caused a 2021 DUI crash that killed her cousin will learn her fate in a Tampa courtroom on Friday.
The backstory
Troopers said Jennifer Carvajal was going 110 mph on I-4 in April 2021. She lost control of the car, veered off the road, went airborne and hit a fence, then landed in the Gator Ford dealership lot. There, law enforcement said, she hit a parked truck, a concrete pole and a tree.
Carvajal's 22-year-old cousin died. Her cousin's girlfriend broke both legs, and another passenger was severely injured.
Dig deeper
It's not Carvajal's first time in this position. At the time of the 2021 crash, she was on probation for another deadly DUI crash in 2014 when she was 16 years old. A judge sentenced her to five years in prison for driving drunk, running a red light and crashing into a 52-year-old Plant City man, killing him in that incident.
Friday's sentencing for the 2021 crash comes after Carvajal pleaded guilty in February to the charges, including DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide, avoiding a trial.
Prosecutors previously offered her 50 years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to all charges against her, but Carvajal wanted 25 years. The state rejected that.
What's next
Friday morning's sentencing hearing is set to begin at 8:30 a.m.
Carvajal faces anywhere from 31 years to life in prison.
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The Source
This story was written with information from Hillsborough County court records and previous FOX 13 News reports.
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