On Thursday, prosecutors released chilling text messages in the trial of Mila Dago, 24, who was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and two counts of DUI with damage to a person after plowing her Smart Car into a moving truck on August 14, 2013.
Dago, whose blood tests two hours after the crash revealed she had a blood content level of .178, more than double the legal limit, was going through a breakup with her boyfriend; she texted three minutes before she crashed, “Driving drunk woo … I’ll be dead thanks to you.”
Dago drove her Smart Car, which she had rented from Car2Go, through a red light, smashing it into a moving truck and killing her own passenger and friend, Irina Reinoso, 22. Benjamin Byrum, 51, a produce importer, was driving his Chevy pickup truck when Dago T-boned him, leaving him unconscious. He told the Miami Herald, “The Smart Car is what saved me. If it had been anything bigger, I would have been in trouble.”
Dago and Reinoso’s friendship was barely two months old; Reinoso had plans to work in law enforcement. The day before the crash, Reinoso, Dago, and some friends went to the beach; during the afternoon, Dago and her boyfriend, only known as DJ, had an argument.
Later that evening, Dago and Reinoso barhopped at Blackbird Ordinary and Electric Pickle. During the night, Dago sent more than 60 texts to DJ, including, “Have a nice life idiot … I’m tired of having to put you with your short temper and unreasonable attitude,” “I’m done you ruined me … you’ll be the death of me.”
Roughly 20 minutes before Dago’s crash, DJ responded, “What you talking about your physco stop weirdo.”
Dago, who was arrested in January 2014 but has been out on bail, has pled not guilty to DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and two counts of DUI with damage to a person. She and Car2Go are the defendants in a civil lawsuit filed by Reinoso’s relatives.