Background: News footage of Iris Ruiz during her bond hearing on May 11 (WTVJ). Inset: Iris Damaris Ruiz (Miami-Dade County Corrections & Rehabilitation).
A Florida woman found herself in handcuffs on Mother’s Day following a dramatic car crash that allegedly involved driving under the influence, with her two children as passengers. The incident unfolded in Miami, where authorities said the vehicle caught fire after the crash.
Iris Damaris Ruiz, 33, faces multiple charges including DUI, two counts of DUI involving property damage or injury, and two counts of child abuse. According to documents obtained by Law&Crime, a Florida Highway Patrol officer reported arriving at the scene to find a 12-year-old boy frantically waving for assistance while holding a 2-year-old girl.
Officers discovered a gray Nissan emitting smoke and bearing substantial damage to its front end. As a male bystander attempted to coax Ruiz out of the driver’s seat, she reportedly resisted.
The arrest affidavit describes how the trooper noticed minor injuries on the boy before focusing on Ruiz. When instructed to leave the vehicle due to the fire risk, she eventually complied, allowing the trooper to extinguish the blaze before assessing the family for injuries.
No serious injuries were apparent, but the trooper noted signs of intoxication in Ruiz, including the smell of alcohol on her breath, slurred speech, and visibly bloodshot, watery eyes. Ruiz reportedly claimed she could not recall the details of the crash and struggled to retrieve her driver’s license from her wallet upon request.
Ruiz was subjected to a field sobriety test, during which she allegedly exhibited several signs of impairment, such as incorrectly counting during the test. A subsequent breathalyzer test revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.216, well above the legal limit.
Ruiz was arrested and booked into the Turner Guilford Correctional Center. According to reporting by local NBC affiliate WTVJ, both children were in the custody of their grandmother.
As WTVJ reported, Ruiz appeared in court on Monday for a bond hearing. She was released to Pretrial Services, and Judge Mindy Glazer ordered her not to have contact with her children. When Ruiz’s public defender asked about supervised visits, Glazer turned her down, saying, “Absolutely not. Let her get clean, and let the dependency judge decide if she’s in a state to be a good mom for her children. It’s a shame and unfortunate.”
Glazer added, “Her Mother’s Day was spent driving drunk with two children in the car, which she could have killed.”
Ruiz’s next court date was scheduled for July 9.
