A 73-year-old Hialeah Gardens woman charged with DUI manslaughter in a crash into a lake that killed her best friend on New Year’s Eve in 2024 has avoided prison time as part of a plea deal.
Julia Vega had been charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide for causing the crash that killed her friend and passenger, 69-year-old Elsa Pintor, on Dec. 31, 2024.
In court Tuesday, she pleaded guilty to both charges in exchange for 10 years of probation.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Miami-Dade Corrections Julia Vega
She must also complete 200 hours of community service, partake in a treatment program, and her license was permanently revoked.
Pintor’s family had approved the plea deal.
The crash happened in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 9900 block of W. Okeechobee Road.
According to the report, Vega was driving in the parking lot when she suddenly accelerated and crashed into the lake.
Surveillance footage showed Vega’s car slowly approaching the fence before suddenly accelerating, striking a yellow retainer pole and chain-link fence, and plunging into the lake.
Vega managed to escape through the driver’s side window, and an officer who arrived on the scene used a rope to pull her to safety, according to records.
Pintor, who was in the passenger seat, was unable to exit the sinking vehicle.
NBC6
NBC6 A car crashed into a lake in Hialeah Gardens on Dec. 31, 2024.
“Did my friend die?” Vega is heard asking on body camera video.
Investigators noted that Vega was slurring her speech, stumbling on flat ground, and had bloodshot, watery eyes. When officers informed her that she would be tested for DUI, she reportedly responded, “I’m not drunk, we only had wine at Cooper’s Hawk.”
Vega allegedly failed field sobriety tests, and after a search warrant was obtained, blood samples were collected.
“Why you keep me here so long?” Vega asked during her sobriety tests. “Why are you doing this in front of everybody?”
Toxicology results showed a blood alcohol level of 0.148, dropping slightly to 0.146 an hour later, both nearly double Florida’s legal limit of 0.08.
Tests also indicated the presence of Alprazolam, a prescription medication used to treat anxiety disorders.
Court records revealed that Vega’s daughter and Pintor’s son are married and have children together.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
