TAVARES, Fla.—More details have been released in the death of a 2-year-old boy Monday night and a fundraiser has been set up to help his family.
Asher Lepping, 2, was out riding his blue toddler tricycle with his sister near a cul-de-sac in his Oak Bend neighborhood while his parents watched, shortly after 7:15 p.m. Monday; Asher’s mom, Kyrsten Lepping heard a vehicle speeding and observed a silver Toyota Tacoma speeding as it turned onto the street. Asher’s mom and dad yelled at the truck to slow down, and the truck struck Asher, dragging the toddler and his tricycle several feet. Asher’s parents and neighbors rushed over to the boy in an attempt to help him and he was transported to AdventHealth Waterman hospital in Tavares, where he later succumbed to his injuries, according to a Tavares Police Department arrest affidavit.
The driver of the truck, 19-year-old Joshua Aidan Montero, had a strong odor of alcohol emitting from his breath following the crash, according to the affidavit, and the 911 caller who reported the crash said Montero appeared to be intoxicated. Montero, who was not wearing shoes or a shirt, clad in only swim trunks, was denied access to the truck due to the crash and DUI investigation and had “apparent mood swings.” He asked if he was under arrest or just detained when he was denied access to the truck and repeatedly asked what he would be charged with. He then requested to be put in the back of a TPD patrol vehicle because of the rainy weather and his lack of clothing. Montero first refused to complete field sobriety exercises but then said he would complete them and requested to perform them on the sidewalk near the crash site. There were “many indicators” he was impaired, and he was arrested for DUI.
Montero, of Sanford, was transported to the Lake County Jail and while en route to LCJ, he made statements, presumably about the crime, but the statements are redacted from the affidavit. He consented to a breath test and two samples came in at .062 and .057—anything above .02 is considered impaired if an individual is under 21 years old, TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan said. The breath samples were provided several hours after the crash, and the arresting officer believes his alcohol level was likely higher at the time of the crash, she noted in the affidavit.
The arresting officer then received information Asher had passed away and Montero was informed he would be charged with DUI manslaughter. Montero, who has multiple driver license suspensions, was booked into LCJ on no bond. As part of the investigation, a detective requested Montero’s passcode to his phone, and he gave it up voluntarily, according to the affidavit.
Family friend and neighbor, Annie Brown set up a fundraiser for Asher’s family to help them through this tragedy. “As a mom, I want to take this pain from her, but I can’t,” Brown stated. “However, I can ask we all support her monetarily through this GoFundMe.” If you would like to donate, visit Support for the Lepping Family in Honor of Sweet Asher
Many of the TPD officers who responded to the scene Monday night are parents and stepparents.
“We (TPD) are deeply saddened that an innocent child’s life was taken during a careless a preventable act last night,” Sullivan said.
