By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — The woman charged with killing 11-year-old Chelsea girl Leandra Rosado in a drunk driving wreck has tried at least twice to kill herself in jail, a source told DNAinfo.
Bronx mother Carmen Huertas, 31, most recently made an attempt on her life earlier this month, and was moved from Rikers Island to psychiatric jail ward at Elmhurst Hospital, the source said. Previously, she had tried to hang herself, the source added.
Huertas has been on "suicide watch" since her Oct. 11 arrest.
The Department of Corrections declined to comment.
Meanwhile, her lawyer is working on a plea deal with prosecutors. Huertas faces manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and other charges for allegedly killing Rosado and injuring seven other children as she drove the group up the Henry Hudson Parkway to a slumber party last year.
She may plead guilty to the top charge, lawyers in the case said in court on Tuesday. A judge could determine her potential sentence when the parties reconvene May 25.
Since the deadly crash on Oct. 10, 2009, state lawmakers passed "Leandra's Law," named after the victim. The legislation made driving while intoxicated with children in the car a felony.
Huertas' attorney, Steven Adam Rubin, called the fatal crash "a convergence of every single thing that could go wrong," but he said on Tuesday his client was extremely remorseful, and he will ask the judge for leniency.
"I'm just hopeful the judge will have some compassion for her even though we all have compassion for the Rosado family," Rubin said.
