Police: Woman was high on meth when she ran over child

AUBURNDALE (FOX 13) - The woman who was driving an SUV that hit and nearly killed a 5-year-old girl late last year was high on methamphetamine at the time of the crash, Auburndale police said Friday.

Deputy Chief Andy Ray said the bloodwork taken from Regina Shelton following the November 4th accident just came back, showing she had an impairing amount of meth in her system, allowing police to make the arrest.

"We want to see justice and so we feel like the injuries to Jasira and the difficulty that she and her family went through deserves some justice," Ray said.

Investigators said Jasira Santos was riding her bike on Adams Street when Shelton lost control of her SUV, hopped the curb, and ran over the little girl.

Police are stunned Jasira survived; she's been recovering at home for about a month.

"She came within inches of killing a little girl," Ray said, adding Jasira suffered several injuries, including a fractured skull. "We were all very concerned about her injuries that day. They were severe."

Shelton didn't say much during her first court appearance Friday, as the judge set her bond at $30,000.

Her attorney, Zonald Spinks, said afterward, "what we're looking to do is really find the truth of the matter at hand," but declined to elaborate.

Shelton has been arrested a dozen other times for various crimes including drugs, prostitution, and burglary.