A California woman drunkenly crashed her car containing her 4-year-old daughter into a canal, fleeing the vehicle by herself and leaving the child to drown in the wreckage.
Juliette Acosta, 26, has been charged with murder, vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury and permitting a child to suffer under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury or death following the death of her daughter, 4-year-old Reagan Herrin.
These charges were added after she was initially charged with a felony DUI, with law enforcement finding her blood alcohol content to be three times over the legal limit.
Acosta had allegedly been driving her Subaru SUV while under the influence, swerving along the road before eventually sideswiping a pole, driving up an embankment and into an irrigation canal. The incident occurred at around 11 p.m. on March 8, reported CBS News.
Acosta's uncle, who had been nearby in Hickman, near Modesto, California, heard the crash and rushed over to help. He was able to remove Acosta from the vehicle but was unable to get to Herrin. Upon being removed from the vehicle, Acosta fled the scene, and was later located in a hotel room by law enforcement, where she had been taking a bath.
Acosta's uncle and a highway patrol officer were eventually able to remove Reagan from the car and bring her to a hospital. However, the child did not survive.
Her father, Clifford Acosta, was later detained and suspected of having aided her following the incident.
Reagan's father, Gage Herrin, set up a fundraiser with the help of family and friends in order to pay for the toddler's funeral. The fundraiser explicitly states that it is in no way, shape or form related to the Acosta family.
"Any remaining money that has been donated after expenses will be donated back to the community on Reagan's behalf in hopes to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future," reads the fundraiser description.
