The driver in a wrong-way wreck that killed two young women made her first court appearance Tuesday, a day after she was arrested and charged in the crash.
Kayla Mendoza, 21, is facing DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and driving with a suspended license causing death charges in the Nov. 17th crash that killed Marisa Catronio and Kaitlyn Ferrante.
"It doesnt appear she's ever had a drivers license," Broward County Judge John Hurley said during the proceedings.
Hurley granted Mendoza a $600,000 bond on the condition she remain on house arrest. While she only needs to pay 10 percent of that amound to be released, the judge stipulated she must show that she has the rest of the money available.
Catronio's family was at the hearing Tuesday to see the young woman's alleged killer hear her charges for the first time.
"It's tough, it's tough to see her and to realize that young lady took away all the vibrance of Marisa," Uncle Ron Catronio said.
It was unknown whether Mendoza has an attorney.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 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. Both Catronio and Ferrante were 21 at the time of the crash.
Mendoza was taken to Broward Health North Hospital with serious injuries. She was wheeled to jail on a stretcher Monday, as injuries from the crash have left her in a wheelchair.
Mendoza had a blood alcohol level of .15, almost twice Florida's legal limit of .08, in the first sample taken after the crash, according to an FHP 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 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.
Mendoza's trial date has not yet been set.
