Woman Charged With DUI in Fatal Cabana Crash Leaves Jail

Driver's blood alcohol level three times legal limit: Police

Hours after her arrest on DUI charges in a crash that killed a pregnant woman at a hotel pool cabana in Fort Lauderdale, a Plantation woman was released from jail.

Rosa Rivera Kim, 34, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon and charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage, according to a release by the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

She left the Broward Main Jail after posting bond shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday, declining a request for comment.

Kim was driving westbound in the 600 block of Southeast 4th Street on March 18 when she lost control of her car, veering off the road and into the cabana at the Riverside Hotel on East Las Olas Boulevard, police said.

Kim's car struck and killed 26-year-old Alanna Demella, a Medford, Mass. resident who was seven months pregnant, according to a report.

Officials said Kim’s toxicology results revealed she was driving under the influence of alcohol and three times over the legal limit.

According to an arrest affidavit, Kim told police she was having lunch with her husband prior to the crash and had ordered an alcoholic drink. She admitted to getting into an argument with her husband that day and leaving the restaurant alone in a 2006 Audi sedan, the report said.

Police said Kim's car was traveling in excess of the 25 mph speed limit when she crossed over the east lane, over the sidewalk curb and plowed into Demella, her unborn child and her husband.

"I'm sure that she didn't intend for this to happen, but unfortunately when you make poor decisions, there's oftentimes where there's something like this that will happen," Fort Lauderdale Police spokeswoman Det. Deanna Garcia.

Michael Demella, the pregnant woman's husband, and Kim suffered non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.

"They have been informed, the investigators have been in constant contact with the family, they're aware of the charges," Garcia said. "They've relayed to the investigator that they're hoping that justice will prevail and they're still grieving the loss."

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