Giggling Woman Accused of DUI Death

(Bradenton, Florida) A 20-year-old Sarasota woman, Julissa S. Martinez-Artiga, was arrested for drunk driving after a crash which caused the death of a local soup kitchen manager, Mary Ann DeLazzer, 77.

Records indicate that Martinez giggled during sobriety testing and would not take the incident seriously. She had a blood-alcohol level of 0.179.

Troopers say Martinez drove an Oldsmobile Bravada into the back of DeLazzer’s Mercury Marques while she was stopped at a traffic light in the westbound lanes of State Road 70 near 30th Street East. Investigators said they found no signs that Martinez braked before the collision.

DeLazzer, 77, of Bradenton, was killed instantly, according to reports.

Martinez, with the help of an interpreter from the jail, told a trooper that before the 6 a.m. crash she’d been drinking “all night” with friends at the El Paisano Bar in the 5700 block of 15th Street East, where she worked as a waitress and dancer, reports state.

Martinez faces charges of DUI manslaughter, driving without a license and driving with no insurance. She was booked into custody at the Manatee County Jail without bail. A federal immigration hold was issued pending the determination of whether she is in the country legally.

In summary, a woman, who doesn't speak English and is under legal drinking age, allegedly drives drunk without a license leading to a crash which causes the death of another person. And, all the while, she giggled.