Kassandra “Kassy” Guzman-Ramirez died at 20 years old on Jan. 9 from her injuries related to a car crash on University Avenue.
Emergency responders said Adam Mandel, a 19-year-old UF student, was driving a 2007 gray Lexus when the car crashed into a guardrail and a utility pole. The front of the car was compressed and had a shattered windshield, according to a traffic crash report.
Mandel was given a drug and alcohol test, and the reporting Gainesville Police Department officer said he was sweating profusely and had dilated pupils, according to the report.
Guzman-Ramirez, who had applied to Santa Fe College, lived with her boyfriend in Gainesville after moving from Weston, Florida to be with him, her family said. They both were from Weston, and he is a UF student.
Guzman-Ramirez’s GoFundMe page was paused on Jan. 13 to withdraw money to pay for her funeral, and the funds donated as of today reached more than $14,000.
It is unknown if Guzman-Ramirez was intoxicated at the time of the crash and the results of her toxicology exam are not completed yet, according to the District 8 Medical Examiners Office.
Jorge Campos, Gainesville Police Department spokesperson, said the department did not have the results for Mandel’s drug and alcohol exams either.
However, Mandel’s driving record had a list of citations court documents show.
In December 2018, Mandel received a traffic citation for careless driving a few blocks away from the crash that occurred this month, according to court documents. He was fined $209 and ordered to complete four hours of a driver improvement course and submit two letters to the judge after visiting two roadside memorials.
On the morning of August 2017, he was also given a citation for driving nine mph over the speed limit on an interstate in Osceola County, according to court records. He received another citation on January 2018 for driving 16 mph over the speed limit on a highway in St. Lucie County.
Ted Hollander, the lawyer who represented him in December 2018, declined to comment.
Kristine Van Vorst, the judge for his December 2018 case, declined to comment.
The Alligator made numerous attempts to reach out to Mandel but received no response. The Alligator also reached out to Mandel’s relatives but was unable to find a responsive phone number.
With the other citations shown through Mandel’s past, there were similar patterns of speeding tickets also given to his parents in Broward County, reports show.
Stefano Itria received a traffic citation in June 2016 for careless driving after driving at 55 mph in a 45 mph speed limit, according to the traffic report.
Radmila Itria-Mandel, Mandel’s mother, was given two citations for unlawful speeding. According to the traffic report, she was going 45 mph in a 30 mph zone in December 2014, and she was driving 68 mph in a 45 mph zone in November 2015.
Contact Stephany Matat at smatat@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @StephanyMatat.
