NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – A South Florida stripper was under guard at a hospital late Tuesday after she was drunken driving when her car struck and killed three teenage soccer players last weekend in North Miami, police said.
North Miami police said announced Tuesday night that Mariam Coulibaly faces three counts of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide.
Gideon Desir, 13; Lens Desir, 15; and Richecarde Dumay, 17, were walking to a bus stop along Northeast 125th Street early Saturday when Coulibaly lost control of her vehicle and struck them on the sidewalk. The boys, members of the Little Haiti Football Club, were on their way to a soccer tournament in Weston.
Coulibaly, 31, was also hurt in the crash. Late Tuesday, she was still being treated at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center under police guard. Reached by phone by Local 10 News reporter Liane Morejon, Coulibaly confirmed that she was the driver involved in the North Miami crash.
A North Miami patrol car sat outside the hospital late Tuesday.
Citing police sources, the Miami Herald reported that Coulibaly's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit when she was tested four hours after the crash.
According to court records, Coulibaly has a long history of driving infractions. Coulibaly dances regularly at The BODY strip club on Biscayne Boulevard. She was partying on South Beach Friday night ahead of the crash, sources said. The owners of the strip club said they weren't sure whether she was working before the crash.
A nearby surveillance camera recorded the boys walking along the sidewalk just before the crash.
Seconds later, once the teens are out of the frame, an SUV can be seen speeding through the intersection.
The families of the victims had been frustrated with the small amount of information released by the North Miami Beach Police Department and wondered why the driver had not been identified earlier.
"For some reason, we're protecting the identity of somebody that has killed and murdered three young boys," attorney Brett Rosen said early Tuesday.
Family and friends have set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for the boys' funeral expenses.