Background: Police body cam footage of Julia Vega from the night of Dec. 31, 2024 (via WTVJ). Inset: Julia Vega (Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation).
Surveillance camera and police body camera footage was released from the night a Florida woman allegedly drove an SUV into a lake, causing the death of her best friend.
Julia Vega, 73, was arrested on Jan. 31, one month after police said she was drunk while driving an SUV with her best friend, 69-year-old Elsa Pintor, in the passenger seat. According to an arrest affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, Vega drove through an apartment parking lot at 11 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2024, when she “suddenly accelerated” into a yellow retainer pole and a chain link fence, then continued to drive into a lake. Vega was able to escape, but Pintor could not be saved.
Local NBC affiliate WTVJ obtained newly released footage from the night of the alleged incident, including body camera footage that showed Vega asking police, “Did my friend die?”
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According to the arrest affidavit, Vega escaped her sinking vehicle from the driver”s side window. Police were on the scene when she yelled for help, and officers were able to toss her a rope and pull her to safety. Pintor, however, was not as lucky.
After the SUV was completely submerged, Pintor was rescued from the vehicle and the water and still had a “faint pulse.” She was brought to a hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.
In the body camera footage, taken while police spoke to Vega in the parking lot, Vega can be heard asking, “Did my friend die?” At the time, the officer could not provide her an answer. Vega was read her Miranda rights and she asked for an attorney. Police said she was “slurring her words, stumbling around on flat grounds, and [had] blood shot, watery eyes.”
When told that she would be asked to undergo a field sobriety test, Vega told police, “I’m not drunk, we only had wine at Cooper’s Hawk.” The body camera footage showed Vega asking, “Why you keep me here so long? Why are you doing this in front of everybody?” Vega was informed that she failed the sobriety tests and was ordered to provide a blood sample.
Police said toxicology results revealed that Vega had a blood alcohol level of 0.148, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08. She also had alprazolam, also known as Xanax, in her system at the time.
According to reporting by WTVJ, Vega and Pintor’s children are married to each other. Hilton Napoleon, Vega’s defense attorney, said in a public statement, “Ms. Vega and the victim were best friends who also shared grandchildren together. This incident caused a devastating loss to the family. The family asks for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult moment, and asked that you respect their privacy.”
Vega was charged with vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter. Jail records noted that Vega was not currently being held at a county facility. According to court documents, her bond was set at $50,000 and she was ordered not to drive, wear an electronic monitor, and remain on house arrest if released. Her next court date is a trial hearing on Dec. 29.
