TAMPA, Florida — A Tampa man was sentenced to prison on Friday for a 2021 crash that left a young woman and her unborn baby dead.
Mario Gonzalez will spend 20 years in prison followed by five years of probation after pleading guilty to two counts of DUI manslaughter.
The crash happened on the afternoon of June 18, 2021, on Interstate 75 in Brandon.
Gonzalez was heading north on the I-75 frontage road near the State Road 60 exit ramp and, upon seeing the traffic jam ahead of him, drove off the road to avoid a crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The sudden maneuver caused Gonzalez's truck to rotate and crash into the side of a tractor-trailer. It then overturned onto the shoulder and Gonzalez's 27-year-old female passenger, who troopers say was not restrained, was thrown from the truck.
She was taken to an area hospital where she died from her injuries. Law enforcement officials later confirmed that the woman was pregnant at the time of the crash. Despite successfully being delivered by cesarean section, the baby later died.
According to the state attorney's office, Gonzalez showed signs of impairment during a field sobriety test and was seen dozing off just after the crash. He was later found to have methamphetamine, amphetamine and fentanyl in his system.
“This defendant made several reckless decisions that lead to the death of a young mother and her unborn baby. He will now have decades in prison to think about his selfish actions and how they have impacted the family of our victims," State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in a statement. "These deaths were entirely preventable, and this lengthy sentence should serve as a deterrent to others who would make such dangerous decisions."
