GASTONIA, N.C. — Gastonia police said a woman was driving drunk when she crashed and seriously injured her two children.
Krystal Nguyen, 27, of Cramerton, cried as she asked the judge to lower her half a million bond for DWI and child abuse charges.
She was inside a courtroom as her 7-year-old son recovered at home, and her 4-year-old son, who nearly died, regained consciousness at the hospital.
"I have never done anything to injure my children. I never would," she said.
Police said she was under the influence of drugs Thursday night when she lost control of her car on South New Hope Road.
She slammed into a utility pole near Tim Mullis' home.
"It was scary-looking. I was wondering how can they do this on a straight away," said Mullis.
Nguyen's 4-year-old was sitting in the backseat, stuck inside the car after it crashed. He had to be resuscitated at the hospital.
He is improving Friday.
His 7-year-old brother, who was in the front passenger seat, needed staples in his head.
Channel 9 checked court records and discovered that Nguyen was charged with DWI in May. She is due in court on that charge in October.
There were no details listed about that charge, but the prosecutor believed that was enough to double her bond. It is set at $550,000. However, the judge decided not to increase the bond.
The maximum sentence for a conviction on the charges against her is 24 years in prison.
WSOC
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
