Asnubil Escobar (left) in a Seminole County Jail mug shot; (right) Cameron Alexander pictured with his wife Tiffany Alexander (GoFundMe)
The life of a 29-year-old wife and mother of three was stolen by a drunk bartender who ran a red light and crashed into her car, mere minutes after the victim left a park where she had gone on a run with her youngest daughters and a friend, Florida cops allege.
The Winter Springs Police Department said Wednesday that the catastrophic and “horrific” collision took place one day earlier around 10 a.m. at the intersection of Vistawilla Drive and SR 434, just moments after the red light turned green and Tiffany Alexander accelerated forward — only to be fatally T-boned by 25-year-old Asnubil Roberta Escobar, who was allegedly extremely drunk and late for work.
“Our police department offers our sincere condolences and sympathy to the Alexander family and cannot even imagine what they are trying to process,” cops said, identifying Escobar as the suspect “utterly responsible” for Alexander’s death.
An arrest report obtained by Law&Crime alleged that the suspect driver’s breath reeked of alcohol after the crash. Escobar also had “slurred speech” and “red, glossy, and bloodshot” eyes, authorities said.
After the defendant was read her Miranda rights and agreed to talk to investigators, the police report alleged, Escobar said she “got off work late last night and went to Racks in Sanford to have some alcoholic beverage drinks,” claiming to have had a shot of a Jagermeister and a cocktail before leaving ahead of 2 a.m. on Tuesday.
The defendant allegedly said she went to a friend’s house afterwards and woke up around 7 a.m., going along for a car ride as her friend dropped off a child at school.
When that was done, the friends “returned to their residence and ate buffalo chicken dip,” Escobar said, according to cops. But the aforementioned series of events meant Escobar ended up having to leave the residence in a hurry around 9:40 a.m. because she was late for work, according to her alleged version of events.
Cops said they spoke with the suspect’s friend and the woman confirmed Escobar works at “Ale House in Sanford as a bartender and manager.”
“Sarah took her child to school around 0700 hours and Asnubil rode with her,” the arrest report said of the friend’s story. “They returned home and laid in bed together, talking and eating chicken dip.”
A GoFundMe campaign started two days ago by Tiffany Alexander’s friends Michael and Stephanie Zundel-Smith revealed that she was the mother of three girls, a 7-year-old, 4-year-old, and a 9-month-old infant.
“She was the love of her husband Cameron’s life and her passing leaves a gigantic hole in their young family,” a post said. “In the wake of this unimaginable loss, we are reaching out to our community for support. As we mourn Tiffany’s passing, we also want to honor her memory in a meaningful way to support her sweet family.”
Alexander’s friends said the wife and mother had “unwavering faith in Jesus Christ” and a gift for making others “feel seen and loved.”
More than $67,000 in donations were raised as of Friday afternoon.
Escobar’s arrest report revealed that Stephanie Zundel-Smith was in a car behind Tiffany Alexander and saw the crash happen right in front of her.
“Stephanie stated she is part of a run club with Tiffany. They ran this morning with their children and were leaving the park,” the report said. “They left the park and turned onto Vistawilla Drive. Stephanie was in the vehicle behind Tiffany as they were on Vistawilla Drive waiting for the green light to turn westbound on E SR 434.”
When the light turned green, Alexander “did not accelerate” immediately but waited a few seconds. Even still, Escobar plowed through the intersection at “a high rate of speed,” killing Alexander as her two youngest daughters were in the back seat of the car, cops said.
“Stephanie pulled over to the side of the road and approached Tiffany’s vehicle,” court documents aid. “She tried to wake her up but could not.”
Authorities said that a blood draw revealed Escobar had a BAC of .386, nearly 5 times the legal limit of .08.
Seminole County jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show that Escobar remains behind bars with bond on charges of vehicular DUI homicide in the death of Alexander and unlawful blood alcohol causing injury.
The arrest report detailed that Tiffany Alexander’s 4-year-old daughter sustained “minor injuries from the crash to include and abrasion and small cuts.” The girl “also went unconscious after being removed from the vehicle,” cops said.
In additional comments on the tragedy, Winter Springs Police Chief Matt Tracht reportedly emphasized that Tiffany Alexander “did nothing wrong” whatsoever.
“Tiffany was just at the wrong place at the wrong time, and this is an instance where a bad thing happened to a good person,” he said Thursday, according to Orlando-area Fox affiliate WOFL.
Tracht reportedly added that it was mind-boggling Escobar was even able to drive with a BAC that high, and he expressed doubt about the defendant’s minimizations of the amount of alcohol consumed prior to the crash.
“You know, I find it hard to believe at 10 o’clock that morning, you’re a 0.38. So at 1:30 in the morning, if you stop drinking, are you a 0.4? 0.5? I don’t know,” Tracht reportedly said. “You know, probably should be dead at that point.”
As of Friday afternoon, court records did not show an attorney of record for Escobar.
Court records reviewed by Law&Crime say that Escobar made an initial appearance Thursday and is expected to be arraigned on the afternoon of July 23.
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