A young girl was killed and another was seriously injured after their intoxicated mother drove head-on into a semi truck on Sunday.
The accident happened on January 9th at around 2 a.m. in Elsinore, Utah.
According to KJZZ News, 33-year-old Cami Aparicio was driving east in the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 near mile marker 35 when she struck an oncoming semi truck head-on. In that wreck, the SUV was “thrown off the right side of the interstate and two passengers were completely ejected.”
The 12-year-old died at the scene, but the 9-year-old was transported to a nearby hospital in extremely critical condition. Investigators say that both girls were wearing seatbelts at the time of the wreck, but the wreck was so violent the pair was thrown from the vehicle anyway.
Aparicio sustained only minor injuries in the incident, and was described as “extremely intoxicated” by responding officers. An open box of hard seltzer was found inside the vehicle following the incident, and the mother exhibited slurred speech and smelled of alcohol.
At one point, she told police that she was traveling from St. George to Ogden. She claims that she left St. George around 11:30 p.m. after drinking two tall Hard Mike’s drinks and that she had purchased another box of alcohol in Washington County.
She has since been arrested for criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault, driving under the influence of alcohol, driving as an alcohol restricted driver, and entering/exiting limited access highways.