Drunk teen runs over, kills 2-year-old boy riding tricycle in Lake County neighborhood, police say
TAVARES, Fla. - A 19-year-old man has been charged with DUI manslaughter after he allegedly drove while impacted and ran over a 2-year-old boy riding a tricycle outside his home in Tavares on Labor Day, according to the Tavares Police Department.
Joshua Montero was booked into the Lake County Jail and held on no bond.
According to an arrest affidavit, a woman and her husband were in their driveway watching their children ride bikes in the cul-de-sac in front of their house around 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 2, when a Toyota Tacoma sped down the road. The parents yelled at the pickup truck to slow down but to no avail.
The truck barreled toward the end of the street, hitting their 2-year-old son, who was riding his blue tricycle, police said.
"The truck struck the child and appeared to drag the child and bicycle a few feet before the truck came to rest based on the apparent blood marks in the roadway," police said, adding that the truck's front tire "completely" ran over the toddler.
Neighbors rushed over and gave the boy CPR until first responders arrived, and he was transported to a local hospital, where he later died.
Montero was behind the wheel of that Toyota Tacoma – and he had been drinking, according to police.
Joshua Montero (Photo: Lake County Jail)
The officer who spoke with Montero on the sidewalk after the crash said the 19-year-old had a "strong odor of alcohol" on his breath and "bloodshot glassy eyes." He was detained and transported to the Lake County Jail.
At the jail, police said a field sobriety test determined "many indicators of impairment," and a breath sample yielded results of .062 and .057.
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"After informing Joshua of his alcohol level and informing him based on multiple hours passing from the time of the crash, I believe his alcohol level was higher at the time he struck the child," the affidavit said.
Police continued questioning Montero in a post-Miranda interview, during which he was observed "repeatedly itching/wiping his nose and sniffing," the affidavit added. The arrest affidavit redacted the reason Montero was doing this.
While at the jail, police learned that the 2-year-old had died at the hospital and upgraded Montero's charge to DUI manslaughter. He was also given a DUI citation, with a court date scheduled for later this month.
The investigation remains open and ongoing.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly reported on the breath sample results in the arrest affidavit. The story has been corrected. We regret the error.