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Kids need home after mom charged with trying to kill them in Coral Springs crash

>>>Surveillance shows Coral Springs mom accused of trying to kill children<<<

>>>A neighbor's security camera filmed Tuesday's crash. In an interview on Thursday, Kevin Linn said he was working at home when he heard a loud crash.<<<

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/videobeta/6cdcfdf3-c085-4b3e-907b-a3f8b104ead9/News/Coral-Springs-mom-accused-of-trying-to-kill-children-appears-in-court?track=ss-mark-promo-news-coral-springs-mom

By Danielle A. Alvarez and Sofia Santana, Sun Sentinel
6:48 p.m. EDT, June 2, 2011

CORAL SPRINGS — Their mother is accused of trying to kill them and herself by ramming the family car into a nearby garage.

Now a young boy and girl wait in government care while officials determine their future.

A judge ordered the children's mother, Jane Gonzalez, 46, to have no contact with them. They were not seriously hurt on Tuesday, though a witness described them as hysterical after the car hit the garage.

Their father, Hector Gonzalez, is not in jail. But he was charged with domestic violence battery after a May 26 incident involving both parents.

Authorities are working to figure out whether the boy, 7, and girl, 10, will live with other relatives or be placed in the foster care system. Judge Dale Cohen ordered that the children be sheltered away from their mother and father, said Mark Riordan, director of communications for the Florida Department of Children & Families.

Relatives will be interviewed and evaluated to determine if they are capable of caring for the siblings, Riordan said.

"Our intention is never to separate a family," he said, "but the first thing we do is remove the children to ensure safety."

With the two youngsters in the back seat of her Ford Mustang, Gonzalez told them to unbuckle their seatbelts before she hit the accelerator, according to a Coral Springs police affidavit. Then she slammed into the concrete structure and garage door of a house in the 10100 block of Northwest Second Street, the affidavit said.

The children told authorities they believe their mother drove the car into the garage on purpose, the document said.

The boy was cut on his upper lip. The girl's chest was bruised.

According to the affidavit, Gonzalez attacked a responding Coral Springs police officer and tried to remove his gun from its holster. She was taken to Coral Springs Medical Center, then booked into jail.

Gonzalez has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of cruelty toward a child, battery on a law enforcement officer and depriving an officer of a means of protection.

At a first appearance court hearing on Wednesday, Broward County Judge John "Jay" Hurley, dismissed a public defender's reasoning that Gonzalez should be granted bond because her children were not seriously hurt.

"Maybe she was not a good judge of how to get rid of her kids, but she tried, you can argue she was trying," he said. He said her telling the children to take off their seat belts "changes it from perhaps being destructive or malicious, to an attempted murder."

A neighbor's security camera filmed Tuesday's crash. In an interview on Thursday, Kevin Linn said he was working at home when he heard a loud crash.

"I heard a commotion, kids crying, screaming. The kids were just hysterical. I heard the boy saying, 'I don't want to die,' " Linn said.

"I have kids about that age. I don't know what was going through her mind."

He said Gonzalez lives in the neighborhood but has no apparent connection with the house where she crashed the car. The Gonzalez residence is about a half-mile away, according to records.

Why Gonzalez may have tried to harm her children was unclear, but court records indicate recent domestic problems.

On May 26, police answered a call at the Gonzalez home. Jane Gonzalez said her husband, Hector, came home drunk and argumentative. She said he pushed her against a wall and punched her in the back of the head, according to a complaint affidavit.

Hector Gonzalez told police he pushed his wife to get her away from him. He was arrested and charged with domestic violence battery, the affidavit said. That case is pending.

Jane Gonzalez was working as a secretary at Deerfield Park Elementary School, according to Broward School District spokeswoman Marsy Smith.

"When she is released from custody, she is going to be administratively reassigned to a position somewhere in the district, away from students," Smith said.
Copyright © 2011, South Florida Sun-Sentinel