Police: Woman almost lethally drunk kills mother of 3 in Winter Springs crash
A woman had what experts consider a near-lethal blood alcohol level at the time of a crash that killed a mother of three earlier this week, according to the Winter Springs Police Department.
Asnubil Escobar, 25, was arrested Wednesday evening for homicide while driving under the influence a day after a T-bone crash on State Road 434 and Vistawilla Drive killed 29-year-old Tiffany Alexander. Two of Alexander’s children were in the car but survived the crash.
According to an arrest affidavit, Escobar had a blood alcohol level of 0.386%. The Mayo Clinic considers a 0.4% level to be a “potentially lethal concentration.”
Winter Springs police Chief Matt Tracht told reporters Thursday during a news conference he was shocked Escobar tested at a level that high.
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“I don’t know anybody in this room that would be standing at a 0.38,” Tracht said. “I don’t really know how she was driving. It boggles my mind.”
Alexander was returning from a run at a park just before the crash, a friend of hers told police. The friend, who was driving behind her, said Alexander waited a moment to drive into the intersection after the traffic light turned green, and that’s when Escobar drove into her car, the affidavit said.
Video described in the affidavit did not show the traffic lights but police said it did reveal Escobar “traveling at a high rate of speed.” Tracht on Thursday could not say how fast she was going but said investigators are looking into.
At the hospital, police said Escobar smelled of alcohol and had “slurred speech [and her] eyes were red, glossy and bloodshot.” She allegedly told police she had her last drink before leaving a bar in Sanford around 2 that morning.
According to police, around 7 a.m., Escobar said she went with her roommate to drop the roommate’s child off at school before returning home. Escobar then left for work about 9:40 a.m. and didn’t report having any drinks in that time.
In addition to the homicide charge, Escobar was charged with DUI with injury and damage to property. She appeared in court Thursday afternoon, and a judge ordered her held in the John E. Polk Correctional Facility without bond.
