Investigators said 38-year-old Cathy Jo Ivancsits was drunk when she got behind the wheel of her SUV last October, then drove away from her Hudson apartment, not realizing her 4-year-old daughter Michelle had darted outside and right in her path.

According to a report by Florida Highway Patrol, Ivancsits ran over the little girl and drove 300 feet before she realized what happened. Michelle did not survive but Ivancsits has not been charged with the death, only a DUI. 

Instead, report states the child is the one "responsible for the collision and contributed to her own untimely death."

According to Florida State law, no pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield.

Investigators also noted in their report that given Michelle's height and the height of the SUV, it was unlikely Ivancsits would've been able to see her daughter in front of the vehicle.

It's a fact DUI defense attorney Brian Mulligan said probably wouldn't have changed, no matter what Ivancsits' state of mind might have been.

"Whether she had a drop of alcohol or not, when she started driving down the road and that child darted in front of her, the fact that she had been drinking, it would've happened regardless," Mulligan said.

To charge someone with a DUI-related death, it must be proven that the driver caused or contributed to the cause of the crash.  Without that factor, the state attorney's hands are tied.

"The State Attorney's Office can't look at this and say because we are so outraged, we have to go after this mother," Mulligan said. "They have to look at this in a vacuum. Put the feelings aside, look at the facts and what they can prove."

And right now, investigators said all they can prove is Ivancsits' toxicology results show she had a .158 blood alcohol level at the time of the crash that killed her own daughter.

Bay News 9 spoke to Ivancsits over the phone.

"It was a tragic accident," she said. "I lost my daughter's life and since then, I've lost my husband, too. It has been so hard and our family has to live with this. We're moving forward and I don't want to dredge it up again."

Ivancsits, who is charged with DUI, is due back in court on August 20th.