An attorney says a receipt from Miami Beach nightclub Arkadia suggests a Coral Gables teen was purchasing alcohol roughly two hours before she struck and killed at 68-year-old grandmother in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
Police say Ivanna Villanueva, 19, was going about 80 miles per hour on Le Jeune Road Road in Coral Gables when she rear-ended and killed Eyder Ayala as the elder woman headed home from a managerial shift at McDonald's.
At just 19 years old, Villanueva is too young to legally drink or purchase alcohol in Florida.
But Ayala family attorney Carlos Silva says the Arkadia receipt shows the University of Miami student bought two shots of Patron silver tequila at the club inside the Fontainebleau Hotel with her American Express card, for at total of $42.
Silva says he has filed suit against Villanueva for wrongful death, and may possibly file suit against the nightclubs and hotels who 'negigently provided alcohol to the minor that later killed Mrs. Ayala.'
"There’s going to be accountability to this family for what has happened here," he said. "This 19-year-old was being served alcohol from our preliminary investigation from different places and she was very intoxicated at 4:30 in the morning."
Villanueva is now under house arrest after posting $50,000 bond on Tuesday morning.
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Police say during the crash investigation Villaneuva was observed to have a very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath.
However, she was not taken into custody at scene but allowed to go home with mother, and arrested later that afternoon at her home after police communicated with the state attorney's office.
Tuesday, Coral Gables police said they are waiting for toxicology reports to come back from two blood tests, and if it is determined that Villanueva was drinking and driving charges against her could be amended.
"People under age shouldn’t be drinking and driving," said Ayala's daughter, Brenda Vasquez. "If they do, they have to pay for what they did. We are just seeking justice for my mom...we were supposed to grow old with her."
Silva said he believes Villanueva had been drinking at least one other location before she allegedly struck Ayala.
"You have to be involved with your children," he said. "[But] we need to know where they are going. We need to keep tabs on them. We can’t give them carte blanche to go out with their friends and drink, especially if they’re minors."
Miami Marketing Group, who operate Arkadia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did Villanueva, though a spokesperson for the family referred NBCMiami to an earlier statement expressing sympathy for the victim's family.
Silva referred to Sunday's accident as a "tragedy all around" for both families. Vasquez, meanwhile, misses her mother.
"It wasn’t her time yet," she said. "Her life was taken from her. She was not meant to be gone this early. She was supposed to be with us a long time."
