A Florida boy is on the brink of being orphaned after his mother was killed and his father seriously injured in a horrific car accident that also claimed the life of his brother.
Two-year-old Fabio Cordoves suffered a broken leg in the collision, which detectives say occurred after Dawn Howard, 54, crashed her Lexus “at excessive speed” into the family’s VW Jetta.
The family, from West Palm Beach, was traveling near the intersection of the 7800 block of South Military Trail and Miner Road on Wednesday when the tragedy occurred.
Mother Grechy Y. Almaguer-Perez, 43, and son Diego Cordovés, 10, were killed, while her husband and father Alejandro Cordovés-Rodriguez, 46, who was behind the wheel, was taken to the hospital.
The father was described as being in critical condition and not expected to survive his injuries.
Mother Grechy Y. Almaguer-Perez, 43, and son Diego Cordovés, 10, were killed in a car accident that left father Alejandro Cordovés-Rodriguez, 46, seriously injured and Fabio Cordovés, 2, with a broken leg.
Detectives said Howard was approaching the intersection as the light was turning yellow and he sped up to try to get through.
He then allegedly continued to accelerate, “entered a very wide left curve” and crashed into the rear of the family’s Volkswagen which was traveling in the same direction in the outside lane. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.
Howard’s powerful Lexus went off the grass verge near the road. She suffered minor injuries and was taken to Delray Medical Center.
Almaguer-Perez was pronounced dead at the scene, her son was rushed to Delray Medical Center but was pronounced dead there.
Cordoves-Rodriguez was taken to the same hospital in critical condition.
Howard, a lighting designer, is suspected to have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash, according to a police report.
An officer was assigned to monitor her while she was in the hospital, however she reportedly became enraged when she was informed she could not use the bathroom unsupervised.
Police said the family’s Volkswagen was struck by Dawn Howard’s speeding Lexus near an intersection in Palm Beach County.
Howard later allegedly slapped a female officer on the wrist after she was taken to the hospital under supervision for her alleged role in the crash.
Howard allegedly slapped the officer on the wrist before handcuffing her to her hospital bed, for which he faces a charge of assaulting a law enforcement officer.
Charges related to the accident are still being weighed pending the investigation.
Howard was released from the Palm Beach County Jail on Thursday without posting bail.
He has been ordered not to use drugs or alcohol and faces random testing, court records show.
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