Brenda Liliana Rivera Estrada faces manslaughter and child abuse charges after her 9-year-old daughter died in a rollover crash on Interstate 17 in Phoenix. Authorities allege Estrada drove recklessly, forcing the girl to share a seat belt with a sibling, with marijuana odor detected at the scene. Estrada denies being under the influence.
Brenda Liliana Rivera Estrada, 30, was driving northbound on Interstate 17 near Peoria Avenue with her four children when her SUV flipped on Sunday morning. The Arizona Department of Public Safety reports that her 9-year-old daughter, Alexa Cortez Rivera, died from injuries sustained in the crash. The other children—a 1-year-old sister and brothers aged 3 and 11—suffered serious injuries, as did Estrada, who was hospitalized before booking into Maricopa County Jail. Estrada faces one count of manslaughter and four counts of child abuse, held on $100,000 bond. Authorities stated Estrada exceeded the 65 mph speed limit and passed vehicles recklessly, according to prosecutors during her Monday court appearance reported by KPNX. An odor of marijuana was detected in the vehicle upon arrival. Estrada told the judge, 'I was not high,' claiming she had smoked the previous morning but not on the day of the crash. The judge called it 'a tragedy.' Loved ones identified Alexa on Facebook and via a GoFundMe launched by her grandmother, describing her as 'a very loving and young baby with a full life ahead of her.' A family member noted Alexa's father had died years earlier, writing, 'Alexa, no words can describe the pain you've left us.'