Deputies responding to a 911 call about two unresponsive people inside a U-Haul van found something else once they got there: two children in the back seat with no safety restraints. Methamphetamine was on the front passenger seat, and drug paraphernalia and prescription pills were found in the van. Only methocarbamol was left unsecured within the children's reach. The stop, in the 6300 block of North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, ended with two adults in handcuffs and the children handed off to a relative at the scene.
What Deputies Found at the Gas Station
According to the Tampa Free Press, a caller reported two people slumped and unresponsive inside the van, and deputies arrived to find 46-year-old Vilmarie Acosta Diaz slumped over in the front passenger seat. As deputies approached the driver's side, the van reportedly began rolling forward, and they ordered 44-year-old Arian Hernandez Hernandez to stop and get out. Deputies said Hernandez had red, glossy eyes, was unsteady on his feet, and showed other signs of impairment before he was taken into custody.
When deputies asked Acosta Diaz to exit the vehicle, the outlet's report notes she appeared disoriented, and deputies spotted narcotics on the passenger seat as she stepped out. She was arrested on the spot. A search of the van turned up methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and prescription medications including alprazolam, cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride, and methocarbamol. Investigators said the methocarbamol, a muscle relaxant, was left unsecured and within reach of the two children in the back, who had no child safety seats.
Sheriff Calls Out Lack of Protection for Children
The family appeared to have been living inside the van, per the same account, and a relative took custody of the two children at the scene. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister did not mince words about the conditions deputies described: “There is no excuse for this,” he said, according to the Tampa Free Press. Chronister pointed to the combination of risks the children faced, saying the children had no car seats, methocarbamol within arm's reach, and an impaired driver behind the wheel.
Acosta Diaz now faces two counts of child abuse, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of possession of a drug without a prescription, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Hernandez Hernandez was charged with driving under the influence. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said the investigation remains active.
How Florida Law Treats Neglect and Impaired Driving
Florida law does not require a pattern of behavior to support a child-neglect charge. Under Florida Statutes section 827.03, neglect may be based on a single incident or omission, including one that results in or could reasonably be expected to result in serious injury or a substantial risk of death. Separately, Florida Statutes section 316.193 defines DUI impairment as driving under the influence of alcohol, specified chemicals, or a controlled substance to the extent that normal faculties are impaired, or meeting the state's 0.08 blood- or breath-alcohol threshold. The same statute also provides enhanced penalties when a person convicted of DUI was accompanied in the vehicle by someone under 18 at the time of the offense, though the exact penalty wasn't detailed in available records.
The Tampa case echoes a separate incident in Hillsborough County's University area, where deputies executing a search warrant at a warehouse found three children, ages 5, 3 and 1, near narcotics and drug paraphernalia, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay. In that case, 24-year-old Joshua Reed-Acton and 26-year-old Amanda Martinez were charged with drug trafficking and child neglect, facing counts that included cocaine trafficking, cannabis trafficking, and four counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver. Chronister said in that case that the suspects chose to do it in a place where three young children were exposed to the dangers of narcotics and criminal activity.
