MIAMI (WSVN) — A University of Miami student who was set to surrender in court and start serving a DUI manslaughter sentence may be in more trouble, pending the analysis of a urine test that tested positive for an unknown substance.
Ivanna Villanueva turned herself around 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building in downtown Miami on DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges after investigators said she struck and killed 80-year-old Eyder Ayala in 2011 while speeding and driving drunk in Coral Gables. Authorities said Villanueva’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit.
Villanueva, a University of Miami student, was 19 at the time of the fatal crash, entered a plea deal. The judge in her case ruled she is to serve three years in jail as a youth offender and do 15 years of probation after she serves her sentence, which includes making monetary annual monetary contribution to Mothers Against Drunk Driving and completing community service and speaking in local schools against drinking and driving.
Depending on the result of Villanueva’s drug test, a state official said she may have to serve more time behind bars. “Issues arose related to the drug testing that have to be analyzed,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office spokesperson Ed Griffith. “We’ll be back in court tomorrow. The issues relate to concerns related to medical prescriptions, which may or may not pose a problem.”
Relatives of Villanueva and Ayala declined to comment. They are expected to return to court Wednesday morning.
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