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Mother Abandons Injured Daughter, 6, In Car After Crashing
POSTED: 11:09 am EDT April 2,
2008
UPDATED: 5:46 pm EDT April 2,
2008
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A helicopter helped chase down a Brevard County mother who abandoned her daughter after crashing her car so she wouldn't get caught driving drunk. The little girl was injured in the crash along with four other people.
SLIDESHOWS: Suspect's Court Appearance | Aerial Images Of Capture
RAW VIDEO: Sheriff's Helicopter Locates Driver Who Fled Crash Scene
CRIME SECTION: Local Reports, Mug Shots, Neighborhood Watch Info
The woman crashed into another car on I-95 near Wickham Road on Tuesday night. During a court appearance Wednesday, the judge set the bail bond at $190,000 for 29-year-old Heather Ayers. Even the judge seemed a little taken aback not just at what she did, but why she told troopers she ran.Ayers just moved to Florida to start a new life. That new life is now starting behind bars.The 29-year-old woman is not only accused of drinking and driving, but causing a bad wreck that sent five people to two hospitals, including her 6-year-old daughter, a daughter she abandoned in her car after the wreck.Eyewitnesses to the crash were stunned."That's just horrible. That is just horrible. For anybody to do that to their child, she was just thinking of nobody but herself," said eyewitness Kim Ensign.Troopers said Ayers crashed the car around 9:45 Tuesday night. The sheriff's helicopter was called in because, authorities said, she took off, leaving the wreck and her daughter with serious injuries.Ayers was found relatively quickly after she hopped over a fence into a pasture. Once she was caught, trooper said she admitted to having driven drunk before and refused to take a breathalyzer.Standing before a judge in clothing designed to prevent her from hurting herself, the judge revealed she ran after being influenced by the reality show Cops."She stated that she had been driving around drinking since five o'clock with her daughter and ran from the scene because that's what they do on 'Cops,'" the judge read in court Wednesday.Ayers has no Florida driver's license to lose, but her child could end up in state custody as a result.Of the five other people hurt in the wreck, four are still in hospitals. At last check, Ayer's daughter was still in serious condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
SLIDESHOWS: Suspect's Court Appearance | Aerial Images Of CaptureRAW VIDEO: Sheriff's Helicopter Locates Driver Who Fled Crash SceneCRIME SECTION: Local Reports, Mug Shots, Neighborhood Watch InfoThe woman crashed into another car on I-95 near Wickham Road on Tuesday night. During a court appearance Wednesday, the judge set the bail bond at $190,000 for 29-year-old Heather Ayers. Even the judge seemed a little taken aback not just at what she did, but why she told troopers she ran.Ayers just moved to Florida to start a new life. That new life is now starting behind bars.The 29-year-old woman is not only accused of drinking and driving, but causing a bad wreck that sent five people to two hospitals, including her 6-year-old daughter, a daughter she abandoned in her car after the wreck.Eyewitnesses to the crash were stunned."That's just horrible. That is just horrible. For anybody to do that to their child, she was just thinking of nobody but herself," said eyewitness Kim Ensign.Troopers said Ayers crashed the car around 9:45 Tuesday night. The sheriff's helicopter was called in because, authorities said, she took off, leaving the wreck and her daughter with serious injuries.Ayers was found relatively quickly after she hopped over a fence into a pasture. Once she was caught, trooper said she admitted to having driven drunk before and refused to take a breathalyzer.Standing before a judge in clothing designed to prevent her from hurting herself, the judge revealed she ran after being influenced by the reality show Cops."She stated that she had been driving around drinking since five o'clock with her daughter and ran from the scene because that's what they do on 'Cops,'" the judge read in court Wednesday.Ayers has no Florida driver's license to lose, but her child could end up in state custody as a result.Of the five other people hurt in the wreck, four are still in hospitals. At last check, Ayer's daughter was still in serious condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
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