'2 drunk 2 care' driver who killed two friends offers tearful apology after victims' families say they 'want her to stay locked away forever'

Kayla Mendoza, 21, drove the wrong-way down a Florida highway and killed two friends after crashing into their vehicle



She has been charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide

In her first interview since the incident, she told Inside Edition that she was sorry for what she had done and didn't remember much from the evening

'N o matter how much I hate myself for what happened, nothing I say will change anything , ' she said

She claims her infamous '2 drunk 2 care' text was a message directed at her boyfriend who she had had a disagreement with



Marisa Catronio, 21, and her best friend Kaitlyn Ferrante, 21, were killed in the head-on crash last November



A 21-year-old woman who tweeted '2 drunk 2 care' hours before she killed two young women in a wrong-way car crash on a Florida highway has told Inside Edition that she is sorry for what she did and that she doesn't remember anything about the incident.

Kayla Mendoza was hit earlier this month with eight charges including DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide for killing Kaitlyn Ferrante and Marisa Catronio, both 21, in a head-on crash last November.

‘When I found out that not only did I get into an accident, but the two girls I got into an accident had passed away, it just really made me wonder why I didn't too,’ a tearful Mendoza told Inside Edition on Wednesday.

Kayla Mendoza, who was charged earlier this month with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide for killing Kaitlyn Ferrante and Marisa Catronio last November, tearfully told Inside Edition that she wishes she could make up for what happened

In the aftermath of the tragedy, it was revealed that Mendoza was not shy about her drug and alcohol use on her social media accounts.

As well as the ‘2 drunk 2 care’ tweet sent just hours before the crash, she had also referred to herself as the ‘Pothead Princess’ and fired off dozens of tweets about being high and rolling joints.

In the days leading up to wreck, she bragged about her car ‘permanently’ smelling of weed and claimed she was unable to sleep without smoking a ‘bedtime blunt.’

In her interview with Inside Edition, Mendoza said her notorious ‘2 drunk 2 care’ tweet had been directed at her boyfriend, who she had fallen out with.

Party girl: Kayla Mendoza, a self-proclaimed 'pothead princess' posted photos of joints on her Twitter account, is allegedly responsible for a wrong-way crash that killed two women



Less than three hours before the wrong-way crash on November 17 last year, Mendoza tweeted that she was '2 drunk 2 care'

‘It did not mean, “I'm too drunk to care, I'm going to get in my car now and wherever the hell I end up, that's it,” No.’ she said. ‘It was directed to my boyfriend. That's the only person that it was for.’

On the night of the incident Mendoza was found to have a blood-alcohol level of 0.15, she was just 20 at the time and had been out boozing with co-workers from her T-Mobile sales job.

After the drinks her manager dropped her off at her car and that is when ‘things went black’, she said. ‘I wish there was something I could say to make up for what happened.'



‘But no matter how many “sorrys,” apologies, tears I cry - no matter how much I hate myself for what happened, nothing I say will change anything.’

The crash means Mendoza is currently confined to a wheelchair as she recovers from her injuries.



Earlier this month, she was wheeled into Broward County Jail, Florida, on a stretcher, covering her face with a sheet while the victims' families gathered outside the gates.

Mendoza, who is still recovering from her injuries from the crash, covered her face so she would not have to look at the faces of the grieving families who gathered on Monday at the Florida jail

Marisa Catriono's father Gary, pictured outside the jail on Monday, said his life had been changed forever

Gary Catronio, Marisa's father, said that Mendoza had 'changed the lives of our family forever.'

'You took my baby girl,' he said, according to CBS Miami. ' You took my baby girl. You took my wife's best friend. You made bad decision that night. The right decision was to have a friend drive you home.'

Christine Ferrante, the mother of Kaitlyn, said: 'I don't want her to ever feel the sunshine ever. I want her to stay locked away forever.'

On the night of the crash, 20-year-old Mendoza had been drinking at the Tijuana Taxi Company in Coral Springs.



Around 8pm, she tweeted the words '2 drunk 2 care' - just hours before climbing into her car and allegedly causing the horrific wrong-way crash on the Sawgrass Expressway.

Victims: Marisa Caran Catronio, right, and her best friend Kaitlyn Nicole Ferrante, left, were both killed in the collision in the early hours of November 17 last year

The best friends had been heading back from a night out when they were hit head-on by another car

Marisa Catronio was pronounced dead at the scene around 2am on November 17 last year. Kaitlyn Ferrante was taken to hospital but died from her injuries four days later.

The best friends had been heading home to Coral Springs in Miss Ferrante's 2012 Toyota Camry after a night out when they were struck by a Hyundai Sonata driven by Mendoza, police said.

Mendoza was heading east in the westbound lanes when she slammed head-on into Catronio's red Camry driven by Ferrante, west of University Drive.

The two friends were out celebrating Miss Catronio's 21st birthday.



In memory of the victims, the families have set up Marisasway.org.

