1 Child Killed, Another Injured In Crash; Driver Arrested For DUI

POLK CITY, FL — A driver was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter following a crash early Wednesday morning that killed a 22-month-old boy and left a 5-year-old boy with a fractured neck.

Polk County sheriff's deputies and Polk County Fire Rescue were call to the scene of a crash at about 12:15 a.m. on Deen Still Road at Old Grade Road, about 10 miles north of Lake Alfred.

When they arrived, first responders found a 22-month-old boy dead. He was not in a child safety seat and was thrown from the pickup truck during the crash.

Detectives are still trying to determine if the 5-year-old was wearing a seat belt.

According to detectives, Najera Santana, 30, was driving a 2019 Chevrolet pickup truck west on Deen Still Road when she lost control of the truck, crashed through a barbed-wire fence and struck multiple pine trees.

Detectives found multiple open and unopened containers of beer in and around the truck. Santana admitted she drank several beers earlier in the evening, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

Santana was arrested and taken to the sheriff’s processing center where she gave two breath samples that showed a breath-alcohol content of 0.141 and 0.139. The legal threshold in Florida is 0.08, said the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office said Santana lives in Polk City but is originally from Mexico and is in the United States on an expired work visa. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been notified.

She was charged with DUI manslaughter, two counts of negligent child abuse, DUI with serious bodily injury, DUI with property damage and driving with an expired license.

“It is absolutely maddening, with so many other options available, that someone would choose to drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs," Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said. "The result of this woman’s poor choice is the death of one child, and the very serious injury to another child.”