Kayla Mendoza, Driver in Sawgrass Expressway Wrong-Way Wreck, Above Legal Alcohol Limit at Time of Crash: FHP Warrant

Kayla Mendoza had a blood alcohol level of .15, warrant says

The driver who was behind the wheel of a car heading the opposite direction during a Coral Springs wrong-way wreck that killed two young women had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit hours after the crash, according to court documents released Wednesday.

Kayla Mendoza had a blood alcohol level of .15, almost twice Florida's legal limit of .08, in the first sample taken after the Nov. 17 crash that killed 21-year-old Maris Catronio and Kaitlyn Ferrante, according to a Florida Highway Patrol search warrant.


A second sample, taken approximately two and a half hours after the crash, showed Mendoza had a blood alcohol level of .10, the warrant said.

According to the FHP, Mendoza, 20 years old at the time of the crash, was driving the wrong way on the Sawgrass Expressway in a 2004 Hyundai Sonata when she struck Ferrante's 2012 Toyota Camry.


Catronio was pronounced dead at the scene, while Ferrante, her best friend died at the hospital days later.

Mendoza was taken to Broward Health North Hospital with serious injuries. Charges have not yet been filed against her.


According to the warrant, Mendoza had been drinking at a Coral Springs bar the night of the crash. A Twitter account believed to be associated with Mendoza posted "2 drunk 2 care" hours before the crash, the warrant said.

The families of Catronio and Ferrante filed a joint lawsuit in December against Mendoza and the owner of the car she was driving at the time of the crash.

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