Mom is killed, boys hurt in 80 mph crash

Tag : Tequila Bottle

With one son sitting shotgun and the other in the back seat of herFord Thunderbird, Donna Dante raced down Biscayne Boulevard onMonday night, an open bottle of Jose Cuervo in tow.
For Dante, a 38-year-old Plantation woman with a long history ofreckless driving, the ride would end in a heap of twisted metal atthe intersection of Biscayne and Miami Gardens Drive in Aventura.
Dante, who police say was traveling in excess of 80 mph, sideswipeda 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 seatbelt -- suffered the most serious injuries: a fractured skull,broken leg, arm and jaw. Family members said he was stillunconscious in intensive care Tuesday afternoon.
Christopher Cutrone, 5, lost several teeth and also suffered brokenbones.
''She did three things wrong,'' said Capt. William Washa, anAventura police spokesman.
'No. 1, she was drinking. No. 2, she had her kids in the car. AndNo. 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 herex-husband, Joseph Cutrone, the children's father. ``We're stilltrying to piece all of this together.''
Cutrone, at his sons' hospital bedside at Jackson Memorial Hospitalon Tuesday, wept as he recalled the last time he saw Dante.
The children were in Cutrone's care Monday morning, and he tookthem to work with him at Renters Paradise Realty in North Miami.They quickly grew bored and started to cry for their mother, so helet 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 noresponse. That wasn't out of the ordinary, Cutrone added -- shewould often not return his calls when she had the boys.
Finally, at 10:26 p.m., Cutrone sent this final message: ``Pleasehave the kids call me before they go to bed. I'd like to speak tothem.''
The call never came. He slept lightly, and was awake when PembrokePines police pounded on his door about 3 a.m.
They told him about the crash, and that his children were in thehospital.
ARREST RECORD
Dante, who has an arrest record dating to 1988, racked up more thana 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 untiltoxicology tests are complete.
Dante had been awarded full custody of her sons in April 2007 aftera bitter, yearlong divorce battle. The couple were ordered to haveno contact with each other and asked to undergo 'drug testing forthe benefit of the parties' minor children'' during the divorceproceedings, court documents said.
Although the children lived with Dante in her Plantation home,Cutrone, who lived in Pembroke Pines, was allowed to spend everyother weekend with them on the condition he was supervised andwould not drive a car with them until he was no longer takingprescription drugs, according to court records.
Dante and her ex-husband each claimed the other had a history ofpsychological problems. Cutrone accused his ex-wife of domesticviolence five times -- most recently in 2006 -- but court recordsshow each case was dismissed.
Cutrone admitted the two had their problems -- ''That's why we gotdivorced'' -- but said Dante was a good mother while they weremarried.
Cutrone said he had no idea why she was in Aventura on Mondaynight. Her family members, many of whom live in the Aventura area,also said they did not know what preceded the accident. They wouldnot speak on the record to reporters.
According to Aventura police, Dante was speeding south on BiscayneBoulevard when she approached the Miami Gardens Drive intersection.
UNABLE TO STOP
The light was red, and a car was in the intersection, making aright-hand turn onto Biscayne Boulevard.
Unable to stop, Dante sideswiped the late-1990s Ford driven byWilson Castaneda, then veered out of control to the left.
Her 1997 Thunderbird hopped the median and slammed head-on into a2008 Mercedes driven by Sergio George. The car left roughly 130feet of skid marks.
George suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken toAventura Hospital.
Investigators shut down U.S. 1 in both directions for hours. Theyfound an open bottle of Jose Cuervo in Dante's car. Dante'slifeless body was covered by a yellow tarp right outside her opencar door as police tried to piece together what happened.
The accident remains under investigation.
William Dante spent Tuesday trying to understand how his daughtercould die so young -- and so tragically. ''She was a good girl,''Dante, 71, said. ``I loved her very much.''
Born in Queens, N.Y., his daughter was one of four children. Shegrew up in North Miami.
Donna Dante owned a cleaning service. She also dabbled in realestate, relatives said. But her life revolved around her two sons.
''She was a great mom,'' William Dante said. ``She did everythingfor them.''
Miami Herald staff writer David Ovalle contributed to this report.