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Teen In Deadly Accident Had Agreed To Be Designated Driver

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Ivanna Villaneuva
Jasmine Kripalani

Reporting Jasmine Kripalani

South Florida Crime

MIAMI – (CBSMiami.com) – A recently released document shows that the 19-year-old University of Miami student involved in a deadly Coral Gables accident was supposed to be the designated driver that night.

In a hand-written statement Ivanna Villanueva submitted to Coral Gables police, she wrote that “it was my day as the designated driver.” But Villanueva’s toxicology report showed that she had nearly triple the legal limit of alcohol in her system.

The document is dated October 2nd, 2011 – the same night Villanueva was involved in a crash that killed a grandmother.

The woman who died in the crash – 68-year-old Eyder Ayala – has since been buried in Nicaragua.

In the page-long document, Villanueva writes that she had a 4 a.m. curfew.

“So my curfew was up so I went back to the parking lot by Eden Roc and stayed there,” she wrote. “I drove home and on my way back, the driver in front of me broke quickly. I braked immediately and so did he/she but it was not quite enough. I got out of the car and realized it was nobody I knew, yet it was still someone whose life was on the line,” Villanueva wrote.

Villanueva faces a vehicular homicide charge, DUI manslaughter and a felony for allegedly carrying a false driver’s license. If convicted she faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The accident occurred at the intersection of LeJeune Road and Majorca Avenue. Police say Villanueva was driving at a high rate of speed when she slammed into Ayala’s car.

Ayala, a mother to five and grandmother to seven, died at the scene.

Ayala’s family said they got worried when she didn’t come home from work at the McDonalds at SW 42nd Avenue and 9th Street where she’s worked for more than 20 years as a manager.

Prosecutors revealed during Villanueva’s bond hearing that she was in possession of several fake IDs, which she used to gain entrance to LIV nightclub at the Fontainebleau Hotel.

Villanueva is currently under house arrest and she is allowed to continue to attend classes at the University of Miami pending her trial.

“This is a horrible tragedy all around,” said Villanueva’s attorney David Marcus. “The Villanueva family offers their deepest sympathies and we’ll go forward from here. This is a tragic case.”

Ayala’s family has sued Villanueva and her father, saying he is liable for her conduct.

The multi-million dollar lawsuit says she was “speeding, negligent and reckless.”

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