A Florida man admitted to driving drunk during a crash that killed an 11-year-old girl and injured four others back in 2012.
Max Drosi of Miami pleaded guilty to charges of simple assault, aggravated assault, driving under the influence and other related offenses during a court appearance on Monday.
On March 25 around 12:30 p.m., Drosi was driving his 2012 Chevy Impala on 8th Street and Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia. As he was driving, Drosi ran a red light at the intersection and T-boned a 2003 Nissan SUV. The collision caused the SUV to careen into a nearby seafood restaurant, pinning 11-year-old Samantha Nguyen-Ortanez between the vehicle and the storefront.
“I was shook up, just trying to get things back together,” said Jesse Giordano, the owner of Captain Jesse’s seafood and a witness of the accident. “One minute you’re doing business the next minute all this. It’s insane, I can’t believe it happened.”
Nguyen-Ortanez, who was from Sicklerville, N.J. died from her injuries while her stepmother, 3-year-old brother, the female driver of the SUV and an employee of the seafood restaurant were all hurt.
The young girl was walking with her family at the time of the crash.
“The family was enjoying a Sunday afternoon shopping and they lost a young lady as a result of someone else’s negligence,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan.
Drosi was under the influence during the crash and was looking down at his GPS. Officials have not yet revealed the date of his sentencing.
