The 26-year-old woman who killed a man days away from his wedding when driving drunk last year in Kendall has pleaded guilty.
Jessica Araujo pleaded guilty on Wednesday to killing Naji el-Kadi in the collision.
On April 21, 2016, Araujo was speeding on Southwest 127th Street in Kendall when she drove through a red light and crashed into el-Kadi's vehicle, authorities said. Her car hurtled out of control, also hitting another vehicle.
Authorities later tested Araujo 's blood-alcohol level and found it was nearly three times over the legal limit.
The collision killed el-Kadi, who was days away from his formal wedding.
“I helped him pick his suit and it was the same suit he wore at his funeral," Jihan Haidar, who would have been el-Kadi's wife, said during an emotional courtroom appearance joined by other family members. "We picked the flowers and those flowers were for our wedding ballroom, and we decorated the funeral home instead.”
Araujo's sentence will be left entirely to the discretion of the judge overseeing her case.
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“I pray that one day I am forgiven," Araujo said.
The judge is scheduled to sentence Araujo on Oct. 27. She faces between 10-and-a-half years to 21 years behind bars.
“How would I know that there would not be many happy years to come; there would not be our big day and the flower girl; we would never have the kids to grow and love," Haidar said.
