ESCONDIDO (CNS) - A woman who allegedly was drunk when she crashed her SUV head-on into another vehicle while driving her three young daughters through Rancho Bernardo -- leaving her 9-month-old in critical condition -- pleaded not guilty from her hospital bed Monday to six charges, including felony child abuse and DUI.
Mayra Alejandra Troncoso, 29, who also goes by the name of Mayra Alejandra Gonzalez, was ordered held on $700,000 bail.
Deputy District Attorney Ramona McCarthy said Troncoso was driving on a suspended license and was on probation for a DUI conviction from last year when she allegedly drove under the influence and on the wrong side of the road and collided with an oncoming 2011 Jeep Liberty in the 15600 block of Camino del Norte about 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 12.
Police said Troncoso's 9-month-old daughter was riding unrestrained in her mother's SUV and suffered a skull fracture and a brain bleed. The defendant's 2-year-old daughter suffered facial injuries and her 8-year-old child broke a bone.
The 57-year-old driver of the other car suffered broken bones, authorities said.
Troncoso was arrested the day after the collision at Palomar Medical Center.
In both the DUI from last year and the new case, Troncoso reportedly had a blood-alcohol content of more than .20 percent. In California, it is illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol level at .08 percent.
Troncoso will be back in court Nov. 26 for a bail review and a preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 4. She faces 24 years in prison if convicted.
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