VIDEO: Deadly "2 drunk 2 care" driver speaks out
FT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - In an August deposition just recently obtained by CBS Miami, Kayla Mendoza, a Florida woman who was 20-years-old when she allegedly caused a fatal accident after texting "2 drunk 2 care," says there isn't a day goes by that she doesn't think about the deadly crash.
"If I could take my life and that would bring Kaitlyn and Marisa back, I would do that in a second and I just want them to know, like I said, it will never go away," Mendoza said in the taped deposition. "I talk to them and I pray to them every night. I apologize to the girls every single night. I just pray to them and I say please just help your parents understand that I didn't mean for this to happen. And that I'm sorry."
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) says Mendoza was traveling the wrong way on November 16, 2013 - driving east in the westbound lane of the Sawgrass Expressway in Coral Springs at between 84 and 96 miles per hour - when she crashed into a car carrying two passengers. Marisa Catronio, 21, died at the scene, and Kaitlyn Ferrante, 21, died later at a hospital.
Mendoza was later found to have had a blood alcohol level of nearly twice the legal limit. She also had marijuana in her system, according to the FHP.
The August deposition was attended by Mendoza's own lawyer and lawyers for the victims' families, who are suing Mendoza, Mendoza's boyfriend, her former employer and the restaurant where she allegedly drank underage the night of the crash, reports CBS Miami.
In a wide-ranging deposition that lasted more than two hours, the self-described "Pothead Princess" talked about many topics, including her marijuana use, which began in high school.
In the deposition, Mendoza reportedly admitted to smoking marijuana a "couple of times a week" and to driving her boyfriend's car without a license, like the night she slammed into the car carrying Ferrante and Catronio, reports the station.
She also addressed the infamous "2 drunk 2 care" tweet that she sent hours before the crash, during the time investigators say she was out drinking with her T-Mobile co-workers, including her supervisor, Marcello Bruzzo.
"The '2 drunk 2 care' tweet was for my boyfriend because he was upset that I was hanging out with them and with Marcelo drinking because (my boyfriend) wanted me to be home," Mendoza said in the deposition.
Throughout the deposition, Mendoza neither minimized her actions nor denied that she got drunk and caused the crash that left so many in so much pain, reports the station.
"I just want them to know that regardless of my tweets and all of those sorts of things like that that none of this was intentional," Mendoza said. "It's not like I wanted to go up to the restaurant and I just wanted to drink and drive around and crash and kill somebody and that I know that no matter what I say, no matter how much I apologize it will never change what happened."
Mendoza faces a total of 8 charges, including two counts of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide, to which she has pleaded not guilty. According to CBS Miami, a hearing regarding Mendoza's bond is scheduled for December. She is currently being held on $600,000 bond.
Mendoza's lawyer reportedly says the deposition "was voluntary and demonstrates the willingness of the Defendant to accept responsibility for her actions and to assist the victims' families in the pending civil case for damages."
Christina Ferrante, mother of victim Katilyn Ferrante, says she struggles with Mendoza's apologies.
"It's extremely hard for me to put in words how I feel," Ferrante said, according to the station. "She took my daughter from me. Sorry is not enough. She took my world from me and I'm praying justice will be served."
Gary Catronio, father of victim Marisa Catronio, had a similar reaction to Mendoza's words of contrition.
"Apologies don't bring Marisa back," Catronio said. "More important than an apology is having my daughter here."