Drunk Fla. Teen Allegedly Ran Over, Dragged Toddler Through Gated Community: Police

• A two-year-old Florida boy was killed when an alleged drunk driver struck and dragged the child with his vehicle, per police.
• Joshua Aidan Montero, 19, is charged with felony DUI manslaughter, according to his online Lake County Circuit Court record.
• In a statement to PEOPLE, Detective Courtney Sullivan called the Labor Day incident “horrific” and “a careless and preventable act”

A two-year-old riding his tricycle in a cul-de-sac of his gated Florida neighborhood met an untimely fate when a silver Toyota Tacoma piloted by an alleged drunk driver came barreling toward him, striking and pulling the child behind, according to authorities.

Krysten and Daniel Lepping “began yelling” at the driver, identified as Joshua Aidan Montero, 19, “to slow down,” per an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE. Ultimately, the truck hit the child, dragging him several feet and leaving a trail of “blood marks” behind him around 7:15 p.m. local time on Monday, Sept. 2.

An Oak Bend neighbor conducted CPR on the toddler – identified in the arrest affidavit as Asher Lepping – but the child was later pronounced dead at the hospital. 

Montero is charged with felony DUI manslaughter, according to his online Lake County Circuit Court record.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Detective Courtney Sullivan called the Labor Day incident “horrific” and “a careless and preventable act.”

“Our agency is deeply saddened at the loss of this precious little boy,” she said, adding, “We hope that justice prevails for the little boy’s family. Our hearts go to his family during this heartbreaking time.”

At the scene, Asher’s mom told Tavares police officer C. Bannick, per a narrative of events in the probable cause affidavit, that “she believed the vehicle’s front tire completely ran over” her son.

Bannick alleged in the affidavit that while standing near Montero, who sat shirtless and barefoot in nothing but swimming trunks on the sidewalk, “the strong odor of alcohol emitted from him.”

In their conversation, the officer claimed the teen “admitted to speeding at the time he struck the child,” per the affidavit.

Sitting in the patrol car, the teen noted that he was “spinning,” according to Bannick.

Driving him to jail, Montero allegedly told the officer that he was drunk but not – in his words – “drunk drunk” or “too drunk” to drive, per the affidavit.

In two breath samples, he registered a .062 and .057, per the affidavit, which noted both numbers were “over the legal limit as Joshua is under the legal age to drink alcohol.”

When asked if he had been drinking, Montero allegedly first told investigators that he had had 15 cans of Michelob Ultra and then amended that number to three or four cans over a four-hour period at the beach earlier that day, per the affidavit.

Bannick also claimed in the affidavit that the teen admitted to recreational cocaine use, telling the officer that he had consumed two grams over the past two days– but that he had not had any that day “due to his girlfriend not allowing him to.”

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The officer alleged in the affidavit that during the interview “Joshua was repeatedly itching/ wiping his nose and repeatedly sniffing,” which “is common with the use of cocaine.”

The teen – who is being held in the custody of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office without bond – declined a public defender and a lawyer has not yet been assigned to him, according to his online court record. He is slated for arraignment at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 30.

In a GoFundMe started by a neighbor to the family, Annie Brown said a “precious little boy” had been taken away from his parents and sister “all because a driver chose to show no respect for our quiet gated community and the precious children that live here.”