Mom Sandra Hernandez-Cazares’ harrowing past revealed as she’s found ‘passed out’ with daughter, 3, dead in boiling car

SANDRA Hernandez-Cazares, the mother of a 3-year-old Ily Ruiz, was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse after the toddler was found dead inside a sweltering car.

Despite efforts to resuscitate the girl, Ily was pronounced dead on the scene.

Orange County District Attorney’s Office

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Sandra Hernandez-Cazares, 42, was charged with one count of child abuse causing great bodily injury and one count of involuntary manslaughter after her daughter, Ily, was found dead in their Ford Expedition SUV in Orange County, California .

Hernandez-Cazares’ family began searching for the two after she failed to pick up her 5-year-old son from school.

After they located Hernandez-Cazares, the family found both she and her daughter unconscious.

While the family made an effort to resuscitate Ily, they were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead.

When authorities arrived on the scene, empty alcohol bottles were reportedly found inside the car, per local CW affiliate KTLA .

The Anaheim Police said Hernandez-Cazares was passed out and drunk with blood alcohol levels four times over the legal limit.

Her daughter’s death comes after her two young sons were killed by a drunk driver over a decade ago.

In 2012, her sons, ages 5 and 9, were killed after a drunk driver struck them while they were sleeping in a tent at a campground in South Dakota .

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer released a statement on Tuesday about Ily’s death and Hernandez-Cazares’ tragic loss of her sons.

“The unimaginable pain of having your 5-year-old and 9-year-old sons killed by a drunk driver is something from which you can never recover,” Spitzer said.

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“Anyone who has suffered such a devastating tragedy knows the ripple effects of grief may be able to be hidden, but the heartbreak of losing your children will never go away.

“A mother who was robbed of the chance to see two of her sons grow up because of the selfish decision of a stranger will have to live with the fact she will never get to see her little girl grow up because of the choices she made.”

At this time, Hernandez-Cazares is being held on a $150,000 bail.

If convicted on all charges, Hernandez-Cazares is looking at up to 12 years in prison .

HEARTBROKEN FATHER

After learning of Ily’s death, her father, Juan Ruiz, shared a heartbreaking tribute to his daughter on Facebook .

“I wish I was making this up,” Ruiz said in a video while sobbing. “But no man, my daughter really is dead due to the negligence of her mother.”

He went on to say their 5-year-old son is currently staying with his aunt.

A mother who was robbed of the chance to see two of her sons grow up because of the selfish decision of a stranger will have to live with the fact she will never get to see her little girl grow up because of the choices she made.

Todd Spitzer Orange County District Attorney

Ruiz said he is scheduled to attend court on Wednesday to regain custody of their son.

“I have to go to court on the 11th to see if they will give me my son back,” he said.

“He’s the only thing I have left.”

The family also launched a GoFundMe to raise money for Ily’s funeral costs.

“Ily was such a beautiful and innocent soul with a very loving and bubbly personality,” the GoFundMe page read.

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