Kayla Mendoza's tweet said she was too drunk to care while her blood indicated she was too drunk to drive, according to court documents filed by the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 20-year-old was behind the wheel of the car that was traveling the opposite direction on the Sawgrass Expressway on Nov. 17, leading to a fiery head-on wreck that killed Marisa Catronio and Kaitlyn Ferrante, both 21, the agency said.
Mendoza had a blood-alcohol reading of .15, nearly twice the .08 level that defines drunk driving, according to an FHP search warrant. Traces of marijuana also were found in her system, according to a toxicology report.
Hours before the crash, Mendoza allegedly Tweeted "2 drunk 2 care," something investigators say they also are focusing on. Mendoza has not been charged as the investigation continues, said FHP spokesman Sgt. Mark Wysocky.
2 drunk 2 care
— Kaila Mendoza (@highimkaila) November 17, 2013
"Typically these types of cases can take months," Wysocky said. "Unless a person is a flight risk, no arrests are made until the investigation is complete."
According to the warrant, Mendoza was taken to Broward Health North, where the first blood sample was drawn about an hour after the wreck. Nearly two hours later, a Florida Highway Patrol investigator took a second blood sample, this time placing Mendoza's blood-alcohol level at .10.
Marisa Catronio's father, Gary Catronio, said Wednesday that the family had been waiting for the blood-alcohol results to banish any doubts that a drunken driver had killed his daughter.
"We wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe there was a medical condition," he said. "This just builds on the case that she made a choice, and she made the wrong choice."
ijrodriguez@tribune.com; 954-356-4605 or @GeoRodriguez on Twitter and Instagram ___
(c)2014 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
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Distributed by MCT Information Services
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