WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida driver charged in the DUI crash that caused a beloved high school principal to lose his legs has bonded out of jail.
According to police, 51-year-old Marilyn Aguilera was charged with driving under the influence in a crash that caused great bodily harm. 7News cameras captured the suspect, her head covered with a light pink jacket, walking out of Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, Tuesday night.
April 26, investigators said she rammed her SUV through the fence of a ball field at the park, located in the area of Southwest 24th Street and 112th Avenue, trapping South Dade Senior High School Principal Javier Perez beneath her SUV.
Students and faculty at South Dade Senior High School have rallied behind Perez raising money for him and even holding a blood drive. Students are selling white T-shirts with the hashtag “JaviStrong” to help pay for the principal’s medical care.
“It’s unbelievable, and it’s still a shocker, like, our school is still taking it very, very, very hard,” said senior Cynthia Santoli.
News of Aguilera’s arrest spread quickly at the school, Tuesday. “I don’t know why it took so long, but I’m glad she finally got arrested,” said concerned parent Doreen Demarco.
“It’s crazy to me how it took this long to finally get her arrested,” said Santoli.
Both of Perez’s legs had to be amputated. He continues to recover at Kendall Regional Medical Center.
In an update posted Tuesday on a GoFundMe page, his wife wrote, “More surgeries are ahead, and the road to recovery is long and slow.”
Aguilera’s arrest report states her blood-alcohol level was measured at .227, three times the legal limit. According to the arrest warrant, that night, she was “unsteady, confused and smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage. The warrant further states, an officer noticed “her speech to be mumbled, slurred and mush-mouthed.”
In the warrant, an officer recalls finding “there was a large open can of beer on the floorboard” of her SUV.
Aguilera’s attorney said his client is feeling very remorseful about her actions. “The first time I met her, she couldn’t stop crying, and that was four or five days afterwards,” said Richard Gregg. “Her exact quote to me was, ‘If I could give him my legs’ — as his legs had just been amputated, the victim’s — ‘I would.'”
Aguilera was dropped at home the night of the accident. Miami-Dade Police told 7News they didn’t want to make the arrest until the investigation was complete and included the blood alcohol test results.
According to the warrant, the officer who took her home stated his police unit “reeked of alcohol… long after the subject left the vehicle.”
The warrant also states Aguilera asked police officers several times about her vehicle, but she never asked about the people that may have gotten hurt.
She was finally taken into custody at her home on Tuesday, more than three weeks after the crash. “I don’t understand why she wasn’t arrested that night,” said Demarco. “I don’t see why it took so long for that to happen.”
“She could have Ubered; she could have called someone,” said parent Rosie Cabrera. “She didn’t have to drive.”
Residents at Aguilera’s apartment building declined to comment on her arrest.
The fence at Tamiami Park’s baseball field has been replaced, but the baseball diamond isn’t being used because cars come too close to where children play.
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