Jorge David Rodas Linares, identified as allegedly responsible for run over a couple of motorcyclists at the entrance to the Atlántida neighborhood, zone 18 of the capital, he appeared this Tuesday before the judge on duty at the Torre de Tribunales Peace Court.
After listening to the arguments of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the defense and the testimonies of the victims’ relatives, the judge decided to refer the file to a Criminal Court of First Instance considering that the facts could constitute the crime of very serious injuries, the penalty for which could be 10 years in prison and exceed the jurisdiction of that jurisdictional body.
During the hearing, relatives of Kevin Alexander Jiménez Ambrocio and Nidia Renata Bautista García told the judge the consequences that the accident has had for both families. In addition to reporting on the delicate state of health of the victims, they asked that the case not go unpunished and requested that justice be done.
The Public Ministry charged Rodas Linares with the crimes of negligent injuries and attempted homicide. According to the tax charge, agents of the National Civil Police (PNC) were alerted about a traffic incident that occurred at kilometer 4.5 of the route to the city center, next to a Shell gas station, in zone 18.
When they arrived at the scene, they found a group of people who identified Jorge David Rodas Linares as the driver of the car with license plates P551JSQ, whom they blamed for having run over Kevin Alexander Jiménez Ambrocio and Nidia Renata Bautista García, who were traveling on a motorcycle.
The MP stated that, after the impact, the driver left the scene and was later located in the parking lot of the Los Álamos shopping center, in the Atlántida neighborhood.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the agents stated that Rodas Linares did not have a driver’s license and that he had alcohol on his breath.
After the event, the couple was transferred to the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS) and according to the medical report, Nidia Renata Bautista García receives specialized care at the Ceibal Accident Hospital and remains in Intensive Care Unit 2, with a reserved prognosis. He has friction burns, facial injuries and amputation of his right arm below the elbow.
In the case of Kevin Alexander Jiménez Ambrocio, the medical report establishes that he suffered a radioulnar dislocation. The patient has already undergone surgery and his health status is stable, with favorable evolution under medical observation.
The prosecutor explained that the crime of negligent injuries corresponds to the injuries suffered by Jiménez Ambrocio, while the accusation of attempted homicide is based on the severity of the injuries caused to Bautista García and the behavior that, according to the MP, the driver showed after the hit.
“Why attempted homicide? Because the intention of the accused, as can be illustrated in some videos that will be presented later, was not to help the victim, but rather to drag the victim, pass the vehicle over him and not provide him with that assistance, but to evade and not assume his responsibility,” the prosecutor argued.
Relatives ask for justice
Nidia’s daughter Renata Bautista García said that minutes before the accident she had spent time with her mother at a family celebration and that she learned about what happened through a phone call from Kevin Alexander Jiménez Ambrocio.
“I received a call two minutes after I left for my house, because I am already married and live separately, in which Kevin, my mother’s partner, told me to come back because a car had taken her away… Many people supported us, they joined us to be able to look for her, many motorists, many people helped us look for her. When I managed to get to the place where they were, the man was no longer there and neither was my mother,” she indicated.
The young woman recalled that her mother was transported alone in an ambulance and that for several hours the family did not know her whereabouts.
“My mother left alone in the ambulance, she did not have companions, it was difficult for me because they did not provide me with information about anything, I had to find out on my own with all the people who were there. At this moment, as you understand, I feel very bad because I have to look after my brothers, clearly, because I do not know how to tell them the news. Social networks are flooded with videos and I am very afraid that they will see them, because how are they going to react to their mother,” said the victim’s daughter.
During the hearing, he explained that Bautista García suffered very serious injuries to his face and arm.
“I think he realized that he dragged her, because he dragged her a lot. It burned her skin. My mother doesn’t have skin. He was very irresponsible because apart from having run over her, it would have been better for him and for everyone if he had stopped. The reaction he had was to drag her, it did much more damage to her. By a pure miracle my mother is alive. I don’t know how she endured being dragged for so long. Thank God she was wearing a helmet,” he explained.
“We want justice”
Nicolás Jiménez, father of Kevin Alexander Jiménez Ambrocio, stated that the psychological impact of the event has affected both families.
“When the children see those videos, how they treated their mother, how they treated their aunt, how they treated a brother, I would like that impact, Madam Judge, to be taken into account for what is appropriate, because we really do want justice. What we want is justice, and since it is not whimsical justice, there are facts, there are elements. Please, Madam Judge, thank you very much,” he expressed.
The defense rejects the accusation
The defense of Jorge David Rodas Linares asked the judge not to admit the accusation of attempted homicide and argued that, so far, the Public Ministry has not proven with sufficient evidence that his client has acted with the intention of causing injuries to the injured parties.
“It is very reckless to make direct statements regarding a possible commission of a criminal act when it is not being proven by legal evidence. Right now we can see some videos; the videos are not at all clear. Nor is there any reference, as the lawyers before me mentioned, to the fact that there was a drag. There is no video that proves this or that it happened over him again. Even in the video it is evident that the vehicle crosses so as not to pass.”
The lawyer maintained that fraud has not been proven and that the case corresponds to a traffic incident.
“The intent has not been proven either. We are faced with culpable injuries, since it derives from a traffic incident. It is evident that there was a motorist and a vehicle. Article 150 of the Penal Code establishes culpable injuries,” he argued.
The judge’s resolution
After listening to the arguments of the parties, the judge indicated that, although the case could have originated from a traffic incident, the video incorporated by the Public Ministry allows us to notice circumstances that warrant a different assessment.
The judge indicated that the statements of the PNC agents, the photographs and the video presented so far constitute sufficient evidence to consider that the facts could fit a crime other than the one initially proposed.
Depending on the resolution, the images allow us to observe that the driver realizes that a person remains under the vehicle and, even so, he gets back into the car and reverses.
“Logic and experience allow us to establish that the accused realizes the existence of a person under the vehicle; however, he gets back into his vehicle and backs away again, passing over that person,” the judge explained during the hearing.
He added that the injuries suffered by Nidia Renata Bautista García could fall under the crime of very serious injuries. The judge decided to send the file to a Criminal Court of First Instance, considering that the penalty provided for that crime exceeds the jurisdiction of the Peace Court.
While the file is known by the corresponding jurisdictional body, Jorge David Rodas Linares will remain in the prisons of Torre de Tribunales.