Mother charged with DWI; caused serious inury to 4 yr old child
During early hours of Monday morning Austin Police arrested 33-year old Sandra de la Cruz-Ruiz. They say she caused the head on collision on the 1000 block of Yager Lane that left one of her three children seriously hurt.
“If the person is arrested for DWI and there's a child younger than 15 in the car it becomes a DWI with child passenger, which then becomes a state jail felony,” Det. Richard Mabe with Austin Police Department, said.
A witness was driving behind Ruiz, watching her drift in and out of oncoming traffic, then he saw the crash itself.
When police arrived, Ruiz admitted to drinking four beers in Giddings, and two more while driving with the kids, a seven year old boy, four year old girl and two year old boy, all in the car.
“When you put a child in that situation he or she is not allowed to make that decision. They're doing what that adult has told them to do,” Mabe said.
The family was taken to UMC Brackenridge. The four-year-old has bleeding to her brain and liver, along with a broken leg. Keeping drunk drivers off the roads is a big challenge for officers.
Just a couple days prior near Highway 71, Teresa Marie Perez was arrested and charged with her third DWI. Austin police say they're doing all they can.
“We as a police department are not going to arrest our way out of this problem. We have a problem here,” Mabe said.
Ruiz is charged with DWI with a child passenger, which carries harsher penalties than a DWI alone. She is also charged with intoxication assault.
Sandra De La Cruz-Ruiz, 33, has been charged with Intoxication Assault and Driving While Intoxicated with a Child, after causing a crash on Monday which resulted in a serious injury to one of her three children.
According to court paperwork, Ruiz was involved in a head-on collision on the 1000 block of Yager Lane. Witnesses told police Ruiz's car was drifting into oncoming traffic multiple times before crossing over and striking a pickup truck head on.
Police said Ruiz's three children, a 7-year-old, a 4-year-old, and a 2-year-old, were in the car at the time of the crash. Ruiz's 4-year-old child sustained serious injuries including bleeding to the brain and liver as well as a broken leg. None of the children were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. Ruiz and her children were transported to UMC Brackenridge for treatment.
According to police, Ruiz admitted to drinking six Coronas prior to the crash including four before getting into the car and drinking two more while driving with her children.
Ruiz is currently in the Travis County Jail and her bail was set at $28,000