Three members of a Cuban family, who had recently arrived in the United States, lost their lives in Florida after a tragic traffic accident caused by a drunk driver.
According to the local media News4JAX, The incident was recorded on August 24, in the city of Jacksonville, where the driver entered a street in the opposite direction and hit the vehicle in which the three victims were traveling.
The middle Univision identified the family members as Oscar Rolando González Luque, 21 years old; Yahil Pérez Hernández, 50 years old; and María Elena Hernández Ojeda, 73. The young man had been in the US for a month, while the other two had arrived in the country eight months ago.
A fourth person was traveling in the vehicle, identified as Roberto Ramírez, husband of one of the deceased, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. This would have been the sole survivor.
The crash occurred at an intersection in the Arlington neighborhood, where the family was hit by driver Orlando López Vázquez, 40, who was traveling in a Ford-250 truck.
The police report confirms that López was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident, and that he was driving in the wrong direction at high speed before running a red light.
Despite the fact that the entire family was wearing seat belts, the impact was enough to take the lives of three of them, which suggests the power with which the truck must have hit them.
The two women died on the spot, while the youngest of the group managed to reach the hospital, but ended up succumbing to the severity of his injuries.
Lopez was arrested, and now faces several charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol, three counts of manslaughter and two counts of damage to private property and serious bodily injury while driving drunk.
According to police files, this would not be the first time that the man has gotten into trouble for driving while intoxicated, as he was arrested in 2020 for this charge, in which case he was sentenced to six months on probation. .
Relatives of the deceased started a campaign on the platform GoFundMenoting that they were returning from a family celebration when they were hit by the driver.
His loved ones requested help dealing with funeral expenses, setting a goal of $10,000, which was exceeded in just under four days.
“Since that night our lives have changed and they will no longer be the same. Pain invades us and all because of the irresponsibility of a person. We are a family of Cubans who have been in this wonderful country for a short time and we will be very grateful for all the help you can give us,” wrote Ailyn, a relative of the deceased.
