In a split second, everything can change. You peek down to double check the directions on your phone, you pause to turn up the radio when your jam comes on or you reach back to stop the nonsense fight that has ensued between your children – car accidents are a blink away.

This car accident, however, was completely preventable. Meet Kayla Mendoza, the 21-year-old woman from Florida who will continue to live her life with a cloud of regret and guilt.

Back in 2013, she sent out a tweet that read, “2 drunk 2 care,” after a night of drinking with her coworkers.

What seemed like a harmless decision to tell her boyfriend in a subtle social media message that she was enjoying her night out, ended as every parent’s nightmare.

Hours later, Mendoza got behind the wheel to drive home. The completely inhibited drunk woman found herself driving 100 mph on the opposite side of the Sawgrass Expressway.

Her irresponsible and reckless decision to drink and drive ended with a car accident that took the lives of two 21-year-old best friends, Kaitlyn Ferrante and Marisa Catronio.

They hit each other head on, where Catronio was killed on impact and Ferrante was taken to the hospital where she died four days later. The best friends were on their way home from a birthday party.

According to police records, Mendoza’s blood-alcohol level was almost twice Florida’s legal limit and was driving without a valid driver’s license. On Monday, Mendoza was sentenced to 24 years behind bars.

“This all may be my fault, but at the end of the day, I’m a human being just like everyone else,” Mendoza said. “I have a heart, and it aches everyday. The guilt is overwhelming. I want to speak about this accident with everyone so that I can prevent this from ever happening again.”

Watch the heartbreaking video below to see Mendoza speak about the experience. No matter how many news stories surface about the deadly outcomes of drinking and driving, it continues to be a prevalent problem everywhere.

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