SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - As investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol work to piece together how a mother ended up walking along State Road 46 carrying her baby in a car seat at 3 a.m., a loved one who spoke with her that night is sharing what she knows about the hours before the deadly crash.
Troopers say Destiny Gonzalez was walking in the westbound lane of State Road 46, near Jungle Road in Geneva on April 14. She was carrying her infant daughter in a car seat when she was hit by a pickup truck around 3 a.m.
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The godmother of both of Gonzalez’s children, who asked not to show her face on camera, says she was in contact with Gonzalez in the hours before the crash.
“I’ve known Destiny since 2021 — just through friends of friends. And ever since then, we’ve just got really close. She’s the godmother to my daughter, and I’m the godmother to both of her daughters. Like, we were inseparable,” she said.
She says Gonzalez had gone to visit her siblings’ home in Geneva — a place she visited often.
“It was like my brothers were brothers to her. Her little brothers — like, she went out there all the time, no questions asked, with or without me,” she said.
According to the godmother, Gonzalez arrived at the house around 1 a.m., and was with a friend.
“She showed up with her friend around one in the morning,” she said.
The last time the family saw Gonzalez, she was in the friend’s car, according to the godmother.
“My first thought was, you know, the baby? Like, why was she walking? Why would a man — why would this friend that she’s known since 2017 — leave her walking in the dark?” she said.
Those who loved Gonzalez say they are grieving not only her loss, but the future her two daughters will now face without their mother.
“I miss her presence. I miss her smile. I miss her dark humor. I miss everything,” the godmother said.
“She had a whole life ahead of her, and now two daughters had to grow up without their mom. And that’s something that should have never happened,” she added.
The godmother says the family is pushing for accountability.
“We just want justice. We want the truth to be told,” she said.
Florida Highway Patrol says at this time the case remains an active traffic homicide investigation.