The California mother who left her three-year-old daughter to die in a hot car was “drunk” and “passed out” in the driver’s seat, it was revealed Tuesday as the girl’s grieving father came to the mother’s defence.
Sandra Hernandez was arrested for involuntary manslaughter and child neglect after falling asleep locked inside a Ford Expedition in sweltering heat Friday afternoon. Her infant daughter, Ily Ruiz, was in the back seat.
Ily’s heartbroken father, Juan Ruiz, broke his silence to defend his mother amid what has become the latest tragedy for the family.
“Sandy is a good mother. She would never do something like that on purpose. She would never hurt her baby,” Ruiz told the Daily Mail. “We’ve already lost two babies.”
In 2012, the couple’s two young children, ages 5 and 9, were killed during a camping trip in North Dakota when a drunk driver crashed into their tent.
The family photographed together at Ily’s birthday party: dad Juan Ruiz, mom Sandra Hernández, son Lázaro, 5, and daughter Ily, 3.
Ruiz said Ily was her only daughter and daddy’s girl. “She was my only girl,” she said. “I never expected to have a girl.”
Years after the loss of their children, Ruiz and Sandra would have two more children, a son named Lázaro, now 5 years old, and a daughter named Ily Elizabeth.
“She was my only child. I never expected to have a girl,” he said. “I named her ILY, which means ‘I love you,’ and my mother’s middle name was Elizabeth.”
He shared his joy at being the father of a little girl: “She loved everything. Princesses. Frozen. She loved helping me cook.”
The father became emotional as he recalled how his daughter started calling him ‘Dah… Dah’.
The mother was booked into the Anaheim Police Department Detention Center and was expected to be arraigned later this week.
A relative who was at the scene of the crime managed to pull the unconscious girl out of the SUV. Paramedics took Ily to the hospital, but she later died from her injuries.
Several bottles of alcohol were found in the vehicle.
He said: ‘I named her ILY, which means ‘I love you’ and my mother’s middle name was Elizabeth.’
Ilya and his older brother Lazarus, 5, dressed up for Halloween
Ruiz admitted that Sandra may have turned to alcohol after suffering from bouts of depression.
“I told his family that he needed help but no one listened to me,” he said.
Regarding the tragic death of his daughter, the father said: ‘In my heart it was not done intentionally, but…‘That doesn’t change the fact that she did it.’
Ruiz lived in Texas for his job on an oil rig. He separated from Sandra a year ago and she returned to California with their children.
Despite the split, the couple looked after each other and tried to raise their children together. He sent money home and visited them in California every month.
“I’m not going to talk bad about Sandra because she’s not a bad person,” he said. “She needs help.”
The father, however, was outraged that those close to the troubled mother simply stood by as she struggled..
“I’m angry. That doesn’t change the fact that she did what she did, right? I’m angry at her family for not listening to me,” he said.
“I’m angry, but I’m trying to keep a clear mind and tell them that she would never do this on purpose.”
Ruiz pictured with his two young children, ages 5 and 9, who were killed by a drunk driver in 2012
Ruiz’s children, Lazaro and Ilya
Ruiz made a heartbreaking TikTok video the day she learned the tragic news.
He shared his troubled mental state with DailyMail.com during an interview on Tuesday, just days after the tragedy.
“I hate her so much right now. I hate her and I feel bad for her. I hate her and I feel sorry for her. And I hate the fact that it happened, the way my baby died.”
The mother now faces possible prison time, but Ruiz said she hopes to be placed in protective custody.
“I’m concerned about his well-being there,” he said, “because I know how prison works here in California.”