A Florida man was arrested on DUI manslaughter charges after he allegedly drove through a dead-end street, fatally striking a 2-year-old boy on a tricycle Tuesday evening.
Joshua Montero, 19, failed field sobriety tests after denying being drunk when he struck the child at around 7 p.m.
Asher Lepping, 2, was reportedly riding his tricycle on a cul de sac in the Oak Bend subdivision while his parents were in the driveway of their home.
“The street that this took place on was a short, dead-end street where families felt safe for their children to be able to play under their supervision,” police said.
“[The parents] observed the truck turn onto their dead-end street, which is a very short street, and begin to speed up where they all started to yell to slow down,” Det. Courtney Sullivan said.
“At that point, that is when the truck struck that innocent child.”
The boy was rushed to Advent Health Waterman where he was pronounced dead.
Officers said Montero had glassy and red eyes and smelled of alcohol. He was wearing a bathing suit at the time of the tragic accident.
A breathalyzer test conducted after he was brought to prison was over the legal limit but detectives believe his blood alcohol level was even higher at the time of the crash.
