The 911 Emergency Agency was the first to report the names of the two who died in a freak accident on Monday, 24 June 2024 at 3am. 34-year old Roberto (Alex) Encarnación Diaz and Victoria Reyes were in the front seats of a Mercedes Benz SUV when crossing a street in the Evaristo Morales neighborhood without stopping at the intersection. At the same time, Reynner Jose Eusebio Rosario drove by in a Toyota Corolla also without stopping. Eusebio Rosario would impact the Mercedes Benz with the driver of that vehicle losing total control and swerving to the left, unfortunately right into a ditch built for an underground parking of a building under construction.
Encarnacion and Reyes are believed to have died instantly, while back seat occupants, Yanet Martes and Dany Hidalgo, survived and were sent to the Dario Contreras Trauma Hospital in Santo Domingo East.
Victoria Reyes is described as a model and dancer who had participated in several musical videos of renowned artists, including Elvis Martinez, El Mayor Clasico, Bulin 47, Kiko el Crazy, Braulio Fogon, El Yala, Vakera, Chimbala among others. She was a resident in El Tamarindo in East Santo Domingo. She also had appeared in advertising campaigns.
Reynner José Eusebio Rosario is under arrest at the Ensanche Naco police station and would be relocated to the Casa de Conductor temporary jail, according to media reports.
911 reported the accident occurred at the intersection of Calle Buen Pastor and Calle Tapia Brea in Evaristo Morales. Neighbors told the press that other fatal accidents have occurred at that intersection in the past. They mention the lack of signage.
Listin Diario reported that it is normal for deep excavations for the construction of underground parking for high rises to not have adequate barriers to avoid a situation such as that caused the death of the two persons on Monday. The deep excavation at the site was protected by Aluzinc covering that gave in to the pressure of the crashing vehicle.
In its coverage of the Evaristo Morales tragedy, Listin Diario interviewed Omar Rancier, dean of Architecture at the UNPHU university. Rancier said there is a lack of clear rules covering constructions and mentioned that in some cases the excavations have caused the collapse of neighboring properties. He urged better rulings and implementation of these given the many ground holes open mainly in Santo Domingo for the construction of the high rises. Rancier said there aren’t clear rules and efficient land management is also lacking on behalf of the authorities.
Somos Pueblo highlights the lack of any guardrail systems in the cases of construction sites with deep foundations and recalls the headline-making death of Manuel de Jesus Perelló Gracia in 2006. Perelló Gracia was the son of the owner of Café Santo Domingo (Induban). The hole is still there.
El Dia queried the Ministry of Housing on the matter. The Ministry responded that Ruling R-004, Art. 62 establishes that in the case of a deep excavation, it is the builder who is responsible for installing protection that can resist impacts to reduce the dangers in case of an accident.
911 Emergency System reported sending five ambulances, five firefighter units, a National Police unit; and two units of the Ground Transit and Transport Safety Agency (Digesett) to the scene of the accident.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre video of the crash
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
911 Emergency System
El Nacional
Los Mocanos
Los Mocanos
Proceso
El Dia
El Dia
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Somos Pueblo
Somos Pueblo
25 June 2024