Orlando woman drank tequila, smoked weed before causing crash that threw 2 children from vehicle: deputies
Pictured: Ashauntie Cox (Photo via Polk County Sheriffs Office)
An Orlando woman who admitted to taking four shots of tequila and smoking marijuana is accused of causing multiple crashes that injured four people, including two young children who were thrown from her vehicle on Friday, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. The children remain hospitalized in critical condition.
Deputies said the driver, identified as Ashauntie Cox, 32, and her passengers were driving from Orlando to Avon Park to celebrate one of the kids' Kindergarten graduation when the crashes happened. She was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail on several charges including DUI with serious bodily injury, reckless driving and negligent child abuse with great bodily harm.
According to a news release, witnesses told deputies the first crash happened around 8 p.m. Friday on US Highway 27 at the intersection of US Hwy 98 near Frostproof.
Cox was reportedly driving a blue Kia southbound on US Highway 27 when she struck a pickup truck and sped off.
Officials said she continued to drive recklessly down the highway, weaving in and out of slower-moving traffic when she rear-ended an SUV she was trying to pass.
The crash caused Cox's vehicle to flip multiple times, throwing her 5-year-old and 8-year-old passengers from the vehicle. Cox, the children, a 27-year-old woman – who was also a passenger of Cox's vehicle – and the driver of the SUV Cox's vehicle allegedly rear-ended were all taken to local hospitals.
The children remain at a Tampa hospital in critical condition, Polk County deputies said. The 27-year-old suffered hip, back and spinal cord injuries. The SUV driver was later released from the hospital with minor injuries.
Responding deputies at the crash site said they smelled a marijuana odor and found a bottle of tequila in Cox's vehicle. During an interview with Cox at the hospital, she confessed to having smoked marijuana earlier in the day and admitted to taking tequila shots, the press release stated.
"This woman had no regard for anyone’s life when she got behind the wheel intoxicated and then drove recklessly down a major highway, but what’s worse is the blatant disregard she had for the lives of the innocent children in her car," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "I expect a successful prosecution to hold her accountable—and let’s hope she loses her driving privileges if she’s released from jail or prison. Please keep these babies and their families in your prayers."
Authorities said Cox could face additional charges pending the outcome of the investigation.