Oct 16, 2009 1:45 pm US/Eastern
Emotional Farewell For Victim Of DWI Crash
Mass Held Friday For 11-Year-Old DWI Victim Leandra Rosado; Alleged Drunk Driver To Be Arraigned
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Leandra Rosado, 11, was killed after her friend's mother, 31-year-old Carmen Huertas, flipped the car they were in while apparently drunk.
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Carmen Huertas, 31, is accused of driving drunk when she lost control of her vehicle, causing it to flip over on the Henry Hudson Parkway on Oct. 11, 2009. One of seven young girls she was driving was killed in the crash.
CBS
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Carmen Huertas, 31, is stabilized in an ambulance after flipping her car over with seven children inside on the Henry Hudson Parkway.
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Leandra Rosado, 11, was killed after her friend's mother, 31-year-old Carmen Huertas, flipped the car they were in while apparently drunk.
CBS
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Kayla Fernandez was critically injured after the car she was driving in flipped over at the hands of Carmen Huertas, her friend's mother, who was allegedly driving drunk.
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The remnants of Carmen Huertas' Mercury Sable after the crash.
CBS
Funeral services are being held in Manhattan Friday for the 11-year-old girl killed in an alleged drunk driving crash.
There may be no sadder sight than a coffin bearing a child's young body.
Leandra Rosado was remembered by her parish priest as an outgoing, vivacious girl who loved life. Her sixth grade class from Greenwich Village Middle School, as well as friends and relatives from her Chelsea neighborhood, packed Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. The outpouring of love has helped Leandra's father, a single dad who was raising her, cope with his grief.
"Very, very emotional. A lot of love, a lot of love and a lot of support for me, it has made me feel strong. It made me feel how my daughter was well loved," said the victim's grieving father, Lenny Rosado.
Among the mourners is Brittany Gonzalez, one of Leandra's good friends and the daughter of the woman now charged with her death.
Police say Carmen Huertas, still hospitalized Friday morning, was allegedly drunk when the car she was driving flipped over on the Henry Hudson Parkway, killing Leandra and injuring six other girls including her own daughter.
The priest, Leandra's father and even her schoolmates say Brittany is blaming herself, and not her mother for the crash.
"It's not her fault, Brittany shouldn't be blaming herself," said friend Romelo Lopez.
"She's taking the blame. I tell her, 'it's not your fault.' We have to be there as parents to console them," said Lenny.
Parents of Leandra's sixth grade friends say they all have to work hard together to help these children deal with their grief.
"It's just such a tragedy for everybody. I feel bad for Brittany. My thoughts are with everyone. I just feel so bad," said family friend Gina Brown.
MORE ON THIS STORY:
DWI Mom Stunner: 'I Pleaded With Her Not To Drive'
Friend: 'She Told Me She Was In Good Hands'
Alleged DWI Mom Taunted Kids Before Fatal Crash
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