HOLLAND, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A Holland Township woman has been charged in the death of her three sons in a fatal automobile accident earlier this year.
31-year-old Leticia Marie Gonzales was charged with three counts of Operating While Intoxicated Causing Death on Tuesday, July 19, in the crash that happened on February 17, in the area of James Street, west of 112th Avenue in Holland Township around 11 a.m.
Authorities say Gonzales was driving a 2004 Chevy Tahoe westbound on James Street when she drifted across the center turn lane. She then crossed both eastbound lanes of James Street before hitting the curb and exiting the roadway. The vehicle then rolled and landed on it’s roof in a pond on the south side of James Street.
Gonzalez was able to exit the vehicle after the crash, but the three children, ages 1, 3 and 4, were left in the vehicle until freed by first responders who entered the frigid water to extricate them.
All three children were pronounced deceased with postmortem autopsies revealing that each died from drowning due to being submerged in the vehicle after the crash.
The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Services and Investigative Services Unit continued the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash for several months before the incident was turned over to the Ottawa County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review, with criminal charges being issued for Gonzales on Tuesday.
She was then taken into custody by Sheriff’s Deputies and lodged at the Ottawa County Jail.
Gonzalez was arraigned via Zoom through the 58th District Court in Holland and given a $250,000 cash/surety bond.
She remains in the Ottawa County Jail.
