Driver who killed a woman in Little Havana hit-and-run was drunk, charges upped, cops say
A new toxicology report revealed that a woman was over twice the legal alcohol limit when she struck and killed a woman with her car and sped off on Southwest Seventh Street in Little Havana last month, police say.
Ivana Gomez, 32, has now been charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in a reckless manner in addition to her original charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and resisting an officer without violence.
Around 1:15 a.m. on May 30, Gomez sped past Miami Police officer A. Fernandez in her blue 2019 BMW 330i near Southwest 21st Avenue and Seventh Street at what an arrest report described as a “very high rate of speed.”
READ MORE: ‘It was just a homeless person,’ driver in fatal hit-and-run tells Miami police
As Fernandez followed, he saw Gomez strike a pedestrian and keep driving.
The impact was so violent that the victim’s hair was later found on both the windshield and inside the car.
Despite the officer activating his lights and sirens, Gomez didn’t pull over. She finally came to a stop at a red light at Beacom Boulevard, where two cars were stopped in front of her, according to the report.
When the officer walked up to Gomez’s driver’s side window, he immediately smelled a strong odor of alcohol on her breath, according to the arrest report. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery, and she was alone in the car.
She was taken into custody.
While sitting in the back of a patrol car, police say Gomez spontaneously said, “It was just a homeless person that I hit and it is just an accident.”
‘She hit a human’
Gomez appeared in bond court the day after the crash, where she faced Judge William Altfield, and the loved ones of Kathryn Kipnis, 41, the woman she is accused of killing.
“A shining light has been taken out of this world by the incredible irresponsibility of this defendant, and that Katie was an amazing person and so deeply loved,” Kipnis’ cousin Rachel Kipnis told the judge via zoom.
“She hit a human, there is a Katie-sized hole in her windshield, and [she] tried to get away with it,” said an emotional Rachel Kipnis.
During bond court, prosecutors added that officer Fernandez had to speed at about 100-110 miles per hour to catch up to her at the 30 mph speed limit.
Results of toxicology report
At 3:45 a.m., the day of the crash, Miami Fire Rescue performed an emergency blood draw on the defendant, even though she refused to give consent, according to police.
Traffic Homicide Detective A. Mena also helped with the investigation and noticed what looked like fresh vomit on the driver’s side of the car, the arrest report read.
Later, a judge approved a search warrant for a formal blood draw. Miami Fire Rescue arrived at the Miami Police Department’s South District substation and completed the first court-authorized blood draw at 6:02 a.m. They returned for a second blood draw at 7:08 a.m.
When rescue personnel arrived for the second draw, the defendant refused to cooperate with officers during processing. As officers tried to help her stand, she resisted by bracing her body.
She also refused to get into the rescue truck, locking her knees and resisting.
Officers had to force her into the truck, and while doing so, she hit her head on the truck’s frame. Paramedics checked her injuries, but she did not require hospitalization.
On Monday, police received the toxicology report. These are the results, per police:
▪ Blood sample taken at 3:45 a.m., about two hours and 30 minutes after the crash, showed a blood alcohol level of 0.162
▪ Blood sample taken at 6:02 a.m. nearly 5 hours after the crash, showed a blood alcohol level of 0.112
▪ Blood sample taken at 7:08 a.m. showed a blood alcohol level of 0.088.
All results were above the legal alcohol limit of 0.08%.
Judge Altfield set her bond at $251,500 for her original charges. Jail records show that Gomez remains in custody at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Wednesday morning.
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 9:00 AM.