By SHELLEY TERRY - Staff Writer - sterry@starbeacon.com
ASHTABULA — A 25-year-old mother with a history of drunk driving and endangering children, faces similar charges after crashing her car into a tree Wednesday night, police said.
Marcela Delvalle, 5118 Benefit Ave., had six young children in her 1994 Mercury Grand Marquis when she drove off the road and hit a tree, police said.
The children were not wearing seat belts or sitting in car seats, according to police reports. One child complained of a sore arm, a firefighter’s report shows.
After reviewing the accident and fire department report Thursday, City Solicitor Michael Franklin charged Delvalle on Friday with
driving under the influence, second offense; driving under suspension; and six counts of child restraint, according to Municipal Court records.
In March, police spotted Delvalle driving a red minivan down the center of Cemetery Road, according to police reports. She had four young children and a teenager in the vehicle with her, reports said. Delvalle’s erratic driving caused her to swipe the minivan against a couple of other vehicles before police stopped her, according to police reports. When police talked to Delvalle, they noticed she smelled of alcohol, reports show. At first, she gave officers a false name, but after more questioning, she gave her real name, police said.
Police cited her for operating a vehicle under the influence, five counts of child endangerment and driving under suspension, according to police reports. She pleaded guilty to three counts of child endangerment and to operating a vehicle while intoxicated, court records show.
Municipal Judge Albert Camplese suspended Delvalle’s driver’s license for a year and sent her to jail for 90 days, court records show.
Delvalle appeared in traffic court twice before that, according to Municipal Court records. She was cited for driving under suspension in September 2006, and for driving with no license plates in March 2005, court records show.
In 2006, Delvalle was found guilty of obstructing official business, according to Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court records.
City police and firefighters received Wednesday’s call at 10:17 p.m., reports show. The caller said a vehicle had hit a tree at 916 W. 38th St., according to a firefighter’s report.
The six children were removed from the vehicle and were taken inside a nearby home for treatment by rescue workers before being transported to the hospital by Community Care Ambulance, according to firefighters’ reports.
Delvalle was pinned under the dashboard of the car, and rescue workers had to remove both windshields and the car roof to get her out, firefighters’ reports show. Once extricated from the vehicle, she was conscious and alert but refused to take a blood-alcohol test, police said.
Delvalle and the six children were transported by ambulance to Ashtabula County Medical Center.
