Judge Ana Esther Hernandez Mendez of the Las Yayas Peace Court in Azua authorized a bail of RD$1 million to the truck driver who rammed into an entertainment center in Azua killing six on Sunday, 1 September 2024. Encarnación Bautista is ordered to be available during the six month pre-trial period. He is also banned from traveling abroad, as reported in Listin Diario.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office had requested pretrial detention for Ángel Encarnación Bautista, the truck driver involved in a tragic accident that resulted in six deaths and injuries to over 40 people on Sunday, 1 September 2024.
The Prosecutor’s Office is charging Encarnación Bautista faces with reckless driving, speeding, and causing both permanent injuries and death through involuntary harm.
Prosecutor Juan Diego Ramírez Galván is representing the Public Prosecutor’s Office during the proceedings. He told the court that Encarnación Bautista, a merchant from the San Juan province, was driving recklessly at high speed in a red Daihatsu truck loaded with avocados when the incident occurred. The accident took place around 1:50am.
Encarnación Bautista tragically lost control and his truck crashed into the roadside bar-lounge that was filled with local crowds. This resulted in the deaths of José René Guzmán Guzmán, Génesis Arias Alcántara, Elvin Guzmán Rodríguez, Deury Ferreras Matos, Yohennys Soriano Méndez, and Jhon Deivy Geraldo Matos. Most of the victims suffered severe head and facial injuries, while another 40 others sustained various injuries.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office during the hearing had emphasized that pretrial detention is necessary as Encarnación Bautista has shown a significant risk of flight, evident by his initial escape from the scene. The truck driver turned himself in after learning of the ongoing search for him. The office argues that his past behavior, includes 28 traffic violations recorded in the Criminal Investigation System, justifies the detention.
The case involves serious legal implications under Law 63-17 on Road Traffic, with Encarnación Bautista provisionally charged under multiple articles of the law.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
Attorney General Office
5 September 2024