Divers from the Santo Domingo East Fire Department retrieved a UPS truck from the Caribbean Sea, using a pulley attached to a Digesett boat. The remains of the truck were discovered on Wednesday, 10 July 2024, submerged near kilometer 18 of Las Américas Expressway. The driver of the truck, Juan Jose Valerio Hernandez, had been reported missing on 29 June 2024.
The authorities had tracked the truck to the site using surveillance cameras, but the surf brought by Hurricane Beryl and subsequent storms impeded the rescue operation. The truck had gone from Valerio’s home in Claret neighborhood in the National District to Km 18 of Las Americas Expressway.
The truck rescue operation involved divers, members of the Santo Domingo Este Fire Department, agents from the Criminal Investigations Department (Dicrim), and the General Traffic and Land Transport Security Agency (Digesett).
Valerio Hernandez is still missing. There is no certainty whether he was inside the truck when it submerged into the sea.
Valerio Hernández was last seen when he left his home in the Claret neighborhood of the National District, near Almacenes Unidos on John F. Kennedy Avenue.
Valerio Hernández works in logistics operations at UPS and is described by his family as a devoted family man, married with two daughters. Family members emphasize his charitable nature and strong Christian beliefs.
Search efforts will resume on Thursday, 11 July 2024 with the divers continuing to scour the area for further evidence of what might have happened. At the time, the surf on the Las Americas Expressway was churned by the imminent passing of Hurricane Beryl more than 300 kms to the south.
Read more in Spanish:
El Caribe
Diario Libre
11 July 2024