VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — A woman accused of driving under the influence and causing the deaths of two of her children, who were hit by a car on a North San Diego County freeway on Father's Day, has been released without bail under several conditions.
Sandra Ortiz, 33, was arraigned in court Thursday afternoon and pled not guilty to two counts of DUI misdemeanor and six felony counts of child endangerment in connection with the deaths of 10-year-old Alan Gerardo and 16-year-old Amy Monserrat.
Authorities say on Sunday, June 18 around 6:10 p.m., Ortiz and her children were traveling eastbound on SR-78 in Vista when their luggage fell off Ortiz's SUV and onto the freeway.
Ortiz allegedly told Gerardo and Monserrat to get out and retrieve the luggage. When doing so, both kids were fatally struck by a white Nissan Sentra that was driving east on the No. 3 lane.
During the arraignment, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office claimed Ortiz was driving while six of her children did not wear seatbelts. And when Ortiz pulled over, part of her SUV was still blocking the far right lane, which could have caused a crash.
"It does not appear the defendant made any efforts to stop the children from exiting the vehicle or to get the children out of the freeway," said Deputy District Attorney Stephanie De Jesus.
Officers who reported to the accident say they detected an odor of alcohol coming from Ortiz and that she had red and watery eyes, along with slurring speech.
According to the district attorney's office, Ortiz's blood alcohol content level was at .14%, which is six percent higher than the legal limit for a person over the age of 21 (0.08%).
"The incident itself... it speaks for itself. It's very difficult and all I can say is that this was a tragic incident that resulted in the death of two kids," said De Jesus.
Ortiz, who recently moved from Arizona to San Diego, reportedly does not have a stable living or a physical address. The DA says she also did not have her children enrolled in school.
She was initially charged on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and was in custody on $500,000 bail.
A public defender for Ortiz asked Vista Superior Court Judge Matthew Brower for a proposed criminal protective order, for her to be released without bail, and for Ortiz to be able to attend her children's funeral.
Judged released Ortiz on her own recognizance but under several conditions including reporting/appearing in person for court, not leaving California, not leaving San Diego County, immediately reporting a change of address, reporting any new arrest, abstaining from alcohol, alcohol, and GPS monitoring, criminal protective order, no driving, and no contacting her four other children unless it's at the funeral and via phone.
If convicted of all charges, Ortiz faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
