Following the car accident on Monday, 8 July 2019, when nine people died, the driver has now been identified as 46-year-old Miguel Antonio Castro Mercedes. He had been arrested in 2018 for smuggling 10 packs of marijuana and 249 sacks of garlic.
Of the eight Haitians who died, three have been identified. These are Janvier Dieufait, Jean Bernard Pierre and Exaneau Cabe. The bodies were taken to the National Institute of Forensic Science in Santiago. Nelson Jamel, aged 21, is one of the five who were injured.
The nine died when the Toyota Camry with 17 persons plunged into an irrigation canal in Santiago province. The passengers were undocumented Haitians. The driver lost control of the vehicle when trying to evade military migration checks on the way to Santiago from Dajabón on the border.
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El Dia
10 July 2019