“I could never forgive myself,” Jennifer Carvajal said in court
- Jennifer Carvajal, 28, was sentenced to 67 years in prison for a 2021 drunk driving crash in Florida that killed her cousin, Pedro Carvajal, and seriously injured two others
- During the crash, she was speeding at nearly 110 mph when her car flipped over after hitting a palm tree and utility pole
- Carvajal’s troubled past, including childhood sexual abuse, untreated trauma, and early alcohol use, was discussed in court, but the judge emphasized her repeated, fatal choices behind the wheel
A Florida woman was sentenced to 67 years in prison on May 30 for driving drunk and causing a crash that killed her cousin and seriously injured two others in 2021.
A Hillsborough Circuit judge sentenced 28-year-old Jennifer Carvajal for the deadly crash, noting that at the time, she was on probation for causing a different crash that killed someone.
“She has now committed two acts of DUI and taken two people’s lives,” Judge Greg Green said at Carvajal’s sentencing hearing. “It’s almost as if instead of taking every step to avoid putting yourself in that situation again, you took affirmative steps to ensure that it happened.”
On April 25, 2021, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies witnessed Carvajal speeding in her silver Hyundai at nearly 110 mph on Interstate 4, according to a criminal affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
While attempting to exit the highway, Carvajal lost control and the car became airborne before colliding with a palm tree and a utility pole, the affidavit said. The crash caused the car to flip several times before landing upside down at a nearby car dealership.
Carvajal was transported to Tampa General Hospital with minor injuries and three passengers were transported with severe injuries. One man, Pedro Carvajal, who was Carvajal’s cousin, was pronounced dead later around 1 p.m., the criminal affidavit said.
At the hospital, Florida Highway Patrol officers interviewed Carvajal where they noticed she was still impaired. According to the affidavit, she had glassy eyes, slurred speech, was having trouble staying awake and smelled like alcohol.
Authorities say that Carvajal’s blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was 0.102, above the legal limit of 0.08.
Carvajal called Pedro’s sister hours after the crash to ask her to tell the others that she wasn’t the one driving the car, the Tampa Bay Times reported, citing authorities.
Carvajal was arrested on several driving under the influence charges with personal injury and vehicular homicide, according to her online arrest record. She did not get a life sentence but her sentence is double the 33 years suggested by the state, the Times reported.
In 2014, when Carvajal was 16, she killed a 52-year-old man after running a red light and plowing into his car while intoxicated, according to the outlet. She served four years in prison and was on probation at the time of the second fatal crash.
In court, and in the 2014 case, judges heard testimony about Carvajal’s tumultuous childhood, during which she was sexually abused at 9 years old by male relatives, the Times reported. The abuse only came to light when she was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease.
Carvajal never received any mental health treatment, her attorney said, per the local outlet. She contemplated suicide, used broken glass to harm herself and at age 11, began drinking to cope with her trauma, according to the attorney.
During her May sentencing, Carvajal spoke quietly while addressing the court, with her face buried in her hair. “No matter how many sorrys I say to each of you, or even him, I could never forgive myself,” she said.
Family members of Pedro, the man who died in the crash, said in court that he was a loyal friend, a diligent worker and a devoted dad, per the Tampa Bay Times.
“There is a void in my heart,” Jazmin Lopez Dominguez, Pedro’s mother, said in a statement to the court. “The decision Jennifer made in that moment caused a lot of pain and suffering in our lives – and Julian who is growing up without knowing his father.”