TAVARES, Fla. (TMX) – A 19-year-old Florida man is facing a DUI manslaughter charge after allegedly fatally running over and dragging a toddler on a tricycle under his truck on Monday, police said.
The Tavares Police Department said officers responded to the Oak Bend gated community at around 7:15 p.m. Monday following a report that a 2-year-old had been run over by a “lifted ‘bulldogged’ truck.”
Officers arrived to find several neighbors rendering lifesaving measures until the boy was transported to AdventHealth Waterman Hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
Police said the driver of the truck, 19-year-old Joshua Montero, “presented several indicators that he was possibly under the influence of alcohol.”
Montero allegedly failed both a field sobriety test and a breathalyzer test.
While Montero was being booked into the Lake County Jail, police learned that the boy had died of his injuries. Montero was then charged with DUI manslaughter.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by ClickOrlando, children were riding their bikes on the dead-end street while the boy’s mother and her husband stood watch in their driveway. When she saw the speeding truck, she said she and her husband began to yell at the driver to slow down, but he continued speeding toward the cul-de-sac.
“The Oak Bend neighborhood is a closed, gated community and an active, young neighborhood. The street that this took place on was a short, dead-end street where families felt safe for their children to be able to play under their supervision,” police said.
Police said witness reports that Montero was “traveling above the posted speed and in a careless manner” will be investigated.
“Our hearts are saddened at the loss of this innocent boy’s life in something that was easily preventable. Our agency would like to thank the neighbors that ran to action in an attempt to save the little boy’s life,” police added. “Please keep the family in your thoughts and prayers. And please, slow down and do not drink and drive.”
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