07-16-2008, 02:39 AM
Plantation mom is killed, boys hurt in 80 mph crash
Two boys survived a violent car crash in which police said their mother was driving 80 mph with anopen bottle of tequila in the car.
Posted on Wed, Jul. 16, 2008
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FAMILY PHOTO
Donna Dante with her two sons, Christopher (left) and Vincent (right), in a Dec. 2006 family photo. Dante was killed in a car crash in Aventura late Monday. Her sons were both injured and remain in intensive care.
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For Dante, a 38-year-old Plantation woman with a long history of reckless driving, the ride would end in a heap of twisted metal at the intersection of Biscayne and Miami Gardens Drive in Aventura.
Dante, who police say was traveling in excess of 80 mph, sideswiped a car, jumped a median and plowed head-on into an oncoming car, killing her upon impact.
Her eldest son, Vincent Cutrone, 7 -- who was not wearing a seat belt -- suffered the most serious injuries: a fractured skull, broken leg, arm and jaw. Family members said he was still unconscious in intensive care Tuesday afternoon.
Christopher Cutrone, 5, lost several teeth and also suffered broken bones.
''She did three things wrong,'' said Capt. William Washa, an Aventura police spokesman.
'No. 1, she was drinking. No. 2, she had her kids in the car. And No. 3, she wasn't wearing a seat belt. Thank God [the boys'] injuries were not life-threatening.''
Her family is searching for answers.
''She's never done anything like this before,'' said her ex-husband, Joseph Cutrone, the children's father. ``We're still trying to piece all of this together.''
Cutrone, at his sons' hospital bedside at Jackson Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, wept as he recalled the last time he saw Dante.
The children were in Cutrone's care Monday morning, and he took them to work with him at Renters Paradise Realty in North Miami. They quickly grew bored and started to cry for their mother, so he let Dante have them for the rest of the day, he said.
He would not hear from her again.
Starting about 6 p.m., he text-messaged and called her, but got no response. That wasn't out of the ordinary, Cutrone added -- she would often not return his calls when she had the boys.
Finally, at 10:26 p.m., Cutrone sent this final message: ``Please have the kids call me before they go to bed. I'd like to speak to them.''
The call never came. He slept lightly, and was awake when Pembroke Pines police pounded on his door about 3 a.m.
They told him about the crash, and that his children were in the hospital.
ARREST RECORD
Dante, who has an arrest record dating to 1988, racked up more than a dozen traffic violations since turning 18.
In 1996, she was arrested in Miami-Dade and charged with DUI, disorderly intoxication and aggravated battery on a police officer. Dante was never convicted because the charges were dropped, according to Federal Department of Law Enforcement records.
Her blood-alcohol level from Monday night will not be known until toxicology tests are complete.
Dante had been awarded full custody of her sons in April 2007 after a bitter, yearlong divorce battle. The couple were ordered to have no contact with each other and asked to undergo 'drug testing for the benefit of the parties' minor children'' during the divorce proceedings, court documents said.
Although the children lived with Dante in her Plantation home, Cutrone, who lived in Pembroke Pines, was allowed to spend every other weekend with them on the condition he was supervised and would not drive a car with them until he was no longer taking prescription drugs, according to court records.
Dante and her ex-husband each claimed the other had a history of psychological problems. Cutrone accused his ex-wife of domestic violence five times -- most recently in 2006 -- but court records show each case was dismissed.
Cutrone admitted the two had their problems -- ''That's why we got divorced'' -- but said Dante was a good mother while they were married.
Cutrone said he had no idea why she was in Aventura on Monday night. Her family members, many of whom live in the Aventura area, also said they did not know what preceded the accident. They would not speak on the record to reporters.
According to Aventura police, Dante was speeding south on Biscayne Boulevard when she approached the Miami Gardens Drive intersection.
UNABLE TO STOP
The light was red, and a car was in the intersection, making a right-hand turn onto Biscayne Boulevard.
Unable to stop, Dante sideswiped the late-1990s Ford driven by Wilson Castaneda, then veered out of control to the left.
Her 1997 Thunderbird hopped the median and slammed head-on into a 2008 Mercedes driven by Sergio George. The car left roughly 130 feet of skid marks.
George suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Aventura Hospital.
Investigators shut down U.S. 1 in both directions for hours. They found an open bottle of Jose Cuervo in Dante's car. Dante's lifeless body was covered by a yellow tarp right outside her open car door as police tried to piece together what happened.
The accident remains under investigation.
Two boys survived a violent car crash in which police said their mother was driving 80 mph with anopen bottle of tequila in the car.
Posted on Wed, Jul. 16, 2008
FAMILY PHOTO
Donna Dante with her two sons, Christopher (left) and Vincent (right), in a Dec. 2006 family photo. Dante was killed in a car crash in Aventura late Monday. Her sons were both injured and remain in intensive care.
ยป More Photos
For Dante, a 38-year-old Plantation woman with a long history of reckless driving, the ride would end in a heap of twisted metal at the intersection of Biscayne and Miami Gardens Drive in Aventura.
Dante, who police say was traveling in excess of 80 mph, sideswiped a car, jumped a median and plowed head-on into an oncoming car, killing her upon impact.
Her eldest son, Vincent Cutrone, 7 -- who was not wearing a seat belt -- suffered the most serious injuries: a fractured skull, broken leg, arm and jaw. Family members said he was still unconscious in intensive care Tuesday afternoon.
Christopher Cutrone, 5, lost several teeth and also suffered broken bones.
''She did three things wrong,'' said Capt. William Washa, an Aventura police spokesman.
'No. 1, she was drinking. No. 2, she had her kids in the car. And No. 3, she wasn't wearing a seat belt. Thank God [the boys'] injuries were not life-threatening.''
Her family is searching for answers.
''She's never done anything like this before,'' said her ex-husband, Joseph Cutrone, the children's father. ``We're still trying to piece all of this together.''
Cutrone, at his sons' hospital bedside at Jackson Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, wept as he recalled the last time he saw Dante.
The children were in Cutrone's care Monday morning, and he took them to work with him at Renters Paradise Realty in North Miami. They quickly grew bored and started to cry for their mother, so he let Dante have them for the rest of the day, he said.
He would not hear from her again.
Starting about 6 p.m., he text-messaged and called her, but got no response. That wasn't out of the ordinary, Cutrone added -- she would often not return his calls when she had the boys.
Finally, at 10:26 p.m., Cutrone sent this final message: ``Please have the kids call me before they go to bed. I'd like to speak to them.''
The call never came. He slept lightly, and was awake when Pembroke Pines police pounded on his door about 3 a.m.
They told him about the crash, and that his children were in the hospital.
ARREST RECORD
Dante, who has an arrest record dating to 1988, racked up more than a dozen traffic violations since turning 18.
In 1996, she was arrested in Miami-Dade and charged with DUI, disorderly intoxication and aggravated battery on a police officer. Dante was never convicted because the charges were dropped, according to Federal Department of Law Enforcement records.
Her blood-alcohol level from Monday night will not be known until toxicology tests are complete.
Dante had been awarded full custody of her sons in April 2007 after a bitter, yearlong divorce battle. The couple were ordered to have no contact with each other and asked to undergo 'drug testing for the benefit of the parties' minor children'' during the divorce proceedings, court documents said.
Although the children lived with Dante in her Plantation home, Cutrone, who lived in Pembroke Pines, was allowed to spend every other weekend with them on the condition he was supervised and would not drive a car with them until he was no longer taking prescription drugs, according to court records.
Dante and her ex-husband each claimed the other had a history of psychological problems. Cutrone accused his ex-wife of domestic violence five times -- most recently in 2006 -- but court records show each case was dismissed.
Cutrone admitted the two had their problems -- ''That's why we got divorced'' -- but said Dante was a good mother while they were married.
Cutrone said he had no idea why she was in Aventura on Monday night. Her family members, many of whom live in the Aventura area, also said they did not know what preceded the accident. They would not speak on the record to reporters.
According to Aventura police, Dante was speeding south on Biscayne Boulevard when she approached the Miami Gardens Drive intersection.
UNABLE TO STOP
The light was red, and a car was in the intersection, making a right-hand turn onto Biscayne Boulevard.
Unable to stop, Dante sideswiped the late-1990s Ford driven by Wilson Castaneda, then veered out of control to the left.
Her 1997 Thunderbird hopped the median and slammed head-on into a 2008 Mercedes driven by Sergio George. The car left roughly 130 feet of skid marks.
George suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Aventura Hospital.
Investigators shut down U.S. 1 in both directions for hours. They found an open bottle of Jose Cuervo in Dante's car. Dante's lifeless body was covered by a yellow tarp right outside her open car door as police tried to piece together what happened.
The accident remains under investigation.
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