Woman arrested for DUI, hit and run, and damaging multiple cars at Oaks Condominiums
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Valentina De Antonio Cardenas, 23, was arrested last night and charged with two counts of DUI with property damage, two counts of failing to leave information after damaging an unattended vehicle, and one count of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription after allegedly damaging two cars at Oaks Condominiums.
Gainesville Police Department officers responded to a call from a witness who heard the crash and followed De Antonio Cardenas to the Oaks Mall parking lot, where he made contact with her.
De Antonio Cardenas allegedly caused an estimated $20,000 in damage to the car she hit, and that car was pushed into a second car, causing $5,000 in damage; she then allegedly left the scene. The witness told the 911 call taker that De Antonio Cardenas appeared to be intoxicated and seemed “out of it.”
An officer reported that De Antonio Cardenas’ car had damage on the passenger side, including a flat front tire and missing bumper and headlight pieces, which were reportedly found at the scene of the crash.
Post Miranda, De Antonio Cardenas reportedly told an officer that she was driving home from a restaurant, where she had been drinking wine, by way of SW 62nd Boulevard to SW 20th Avenue; the officer concluded that she believed she was on SW 62nd Boulevard when she had actually been driving down the private road within the condominium complex. She also reportedly denied being involved in a crash.
De Antonio Cardenas reportedly performed poorly on field sobriety exercises and was placed under arrest for DUI; she refused to submit to a breath test. A search at the jail produced a small bottle containing a tan leafy and straw-like substance that she called “tea” and “acid.” When asked if she was referring to LSD, she reportedly said the substance was “shrooms,” a street name for psilocybin. She reportedly said she hadn’t used it for months, in spite of having the bottle on her person. A field test of the substance tested positive for LSD.
De Antonio Cardenas has no local criminal history but has had three traffic citations since 2020. Bail information is unavailable on weekends.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.Â
Maybe she was hallucinating that she was playing “Demolition Derby: CrashRacing.”
Kudos to the witness who assisted before she killed someone.
Drunk driving is more deadly than guns yet there is no outrage about it.
the state of Tennessee just put a law in place that if you are under the influence and kill somebody if they have kids you have to pay what amounts to child support for them
Hopefully this is her wake up call. Here’s to hoping she wises up after this.
Here’s saluting you for not calling for her death. People CAN change.
I really think you’re gay for me. It’s flattering, but sorry; I’m into women sweetie pie.
You’re really blossoming before our eyes. 🦋
I’m so sick of all of the reckless driving in Gainesville. At least nobody was killed this time.