Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Cami Jean Aparicio, imprisoned for a DUI crash that killed her daughter, is seeking parole.
- Aparicio completed therapy and treatment programs, attributing her recovery to faith and self-forgiveness.
- She aims to raise awareness about DUI dangers and promises sobriety if released.
SALT LAKE CITY — Cami Jean Aparicio says when she first arrived at the Utah State Prison she had to find herself again.
"When I came to prison I was broken. I had to restart all over again, just grieving my daughter. I just was so lost. I had to find myself all over again in the program," she told the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole on Tuesday,
On Jan. 9, 2022, Aparicio was driving the wrong way on I-70 near Richfield while impaired and collided with a semitruck. Aparicio's 12-year-old and 9-year-old daughters were also in the SUV.
"Both passengers were wearing seat belts but the violent impact pulled them out of their seat belts" and ejected them from the vehicle, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
Aparicio was found still in the driver's seat. Her 12-year-old daughter, Divinaty Marie Lynn Moncada, was found deceased on the road near a back tire and her 9-year-old daughter was found about 30 yards away from the SUV. The 9-year-old was flown to Primary Children's Hospital in extremely critical condition.
When interviewed at the hospital, Aparicio said she was driving from St. George to Ogden at the time but couldn't remember how she ended up near Richfield.
She was charged with automobile homicide, DUI and other crimes. In April 2022, Aparicio pleaded guilty to automobile homicide and was sentenced to a term of one to 15 years in prison.
Now 36, Aparicio went before the parole board for the first time on Tuesday. In a recording of the nearly 30-minute hearing, the board gave Aparicio kudos for doing extremely well while incarcerated, noting that she has completed many therapy and treatment programs and has remained clean.
She says she has stayed busy with school and work while in prison and has used religion and faith to find herself.
"I feel like God is a big part of it. And before, I wasn't religious and I was upset when everything happened. And so I had to learn to forgive myself and to forgive myself I had to find God," she said.
Aparicio had problems with addiction in the years before the crash, which resulted in various run-ins with the law. But she says she was doing well with staying clean in the weeks leading up to the incident. That night, however, she decided to have a few drinks to celebrate a good month at work.
"I had made the choice not to drink again, and the night that this all happened, I had drank so much that I blacked out," she said.
When asked by the board how she plans to remain sober when she's released, Aparicio said she will continue with therapy and church, and keep a promise she made to her daughter.
"I mean, this is a big wake-up call. I've always had an addiction, I would say. And to lose my daughter over my addiction, like, I know you probably have a lot of people that say they'll stay sober, but I made a promise to my daughter that I would stay sober and I have to stay sober for (my children). But I want to stay sober. Just to lose my daughter over my addiction is enough to keep me sober," she told the board.
She says learning how to deal with grief without using drugs has also been a big turning point for her while in prison.
Several members of Aparicio's family were at Tuesday's hearing in a show of support, including her surviving daughter.
"I'm ready to go home," Aparicio told the board. "When everything first happened I would always say, 'I deserve to be here' … but now I have found myself again and I am ready to heal at home with my kids. And I know they're ready for me as well."
Aparicio said when she gets out, she wants to share her story with others so they don't repeat her mistake.
"I do want to bring awareness to driving under the influence and speak to the community and give back to the community and hope to save lives," she said. "People don't get behind the wheel thinking they'll hurt somebody, but it happens all the time. I just want to bring awareness as much as possible when I do get out and go home."
The full five-member board will now vote on whether to grant parole or set a new hearing for a future date.
