By EFE
Sep 13, 2024, 07:38 AM EDT
San Juan – Mayra Nevárez Torres was found guilty this Thursday of causing the death of Justin Santos Delanda, 21 years old and brother of singer Arcángel, by driving against traffic and while intoxicated in San Juan in November 2021.
Névarez Torres was also found guilty of causing serious bodily harm to Keven Monserrate Gandía, who was with Santos Delanda at the time of the accident, which occurred on the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge, according to the Department of Justice.
After evaluating the evidence presented by prosecutors, Judge Wanda Cruz Ayala found Nevárez Torres guilty of violating articles 5.07, 7.06 and 7.02 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law of Puerto Rico.
The sentencing hearing was scheduled for November 7.
“Justice has finally been done for Justin Santos, Keven Monserrate and their families, after an extensive judicial process,” said the Secretary of the Department of Justice, Domingo Emanuelli Hernández, in the note.
“Due to the illegal and voluntary actions of Mayra Nevárez Torres, the life of a young man who was just beginning to live was extinguished and another person was injured, causing pain to his loved ones,” he added.
The Justice Minister acknowledged the excellent work of the Attorney General’s Office, whose work was “essential” for the prosecutors to use the alcohol test as evidence in the process, as well as the work of the agents of the Police Bureau in charge of the criminal investigation.
The prosecution proved that the convict was driving her vehicle recklessly and against traffic on the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge when she collided with two Can-Am all-terrain vehicles, in which the injured parties were traveling at the time of the crash.
Santos Delanda died at the scene from his injuries. Monserrate Gandía, who was travelling as a passenger, was seriously injured.
Authorities administered a blood alcohol test to Nevárez Torres, which showed a blood alcohol level of .29%. The legal limit for driving a motor vehicle is 0.08%.
For his part, the director of the Traffic Safety Commission, Luis Rodríguez Díaz, said that the ruling sends “a clear and forceful message that drunk driving has legal and fatal consequences.”
Justin Santos’ family suffered during the trial as a result of legal technicalities presented by defense attorneys, such as the attempt to suppress evidence of the drunkenness case.
Reggaeton singer Arcángel said, after his brother’s death, that he had “never” suffered so much or felt “so defeated” and “so lost.” Days later he said that he wanted to help the person who caused the accident because she suffers from an illness that he also suffers from: alcoholism.
In August of last year, the Department of Justice, through the Attorney General’s Office, appealed to the Court of Appeals to review the determination of Judge Nerisvel Durán, who eliminated the alcohol test as a piece of evidence in the trial.
The appellate court ruled in favor of the Department of Justice and overturned the judge’s decision. On March 18, the Secretary of Justice publicly announced that the San Juan Prosecutor’s Office could finally use the alcohol test performed on Nevárez Torres as evidence in the trial.
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