MIAMI — A 73-year-old Hialeah Gardens woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges in connection with a crash on New Year’s Eve 2024 that left her best friend, a passenger in her vehicle, dead.
Julia Vega will receive probation and will have her license permanently revoked as part of her agreement with Miami-Dade prosecutors.
Investigators said Vega, then 72, drove into a lake behind her condominium complex, Vista Del Lago at 9915 W. Okeechobee Road, with 69-year-old Elsa Pintor in the passenger’s seat.
Surveillance video showed the crash and body camera video showed Vega moments after an officer pulled her from the water.
Video shows Vega attempting a field sobriety test, which police say she failed, additionally saying she slurred her speech and had bloodshot, watery eyes.
Investigators say Vega admitted to drinking wine earlier that night and said a blood draw later revealed a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit, along with anti-anxiety medication in her system.
Vega, under the plea agreement, will be on probation for 10 years. Additionally, she’ll have to perform 200 hours of community service and will be on a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. while on probation.
“She lives with it every day,” Vega’s attorney, Hilton Napoleon, told Local 10 News. “It’s a horrible feeling and she’s very, very remorseful about what happened and that’s part of the reason why we were able to articulate the plea agreement and agree upon the terms and conditions that we did.”
Napoleon said prosecutors agreed that putting Vega in prison “would not serve the public’s best interest.”
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