The First Chamber of the Santiago Court of Appeals upheld a two-year prison sentence for the driver who struck and killed 16-year old baseball prospect Imanol Manuel Cruz in August 2022.
The court rejected appeals from both Eduardo Enrique Guzmán Valdez’s defense and the legal representatives of former La Romana PLD congressman Plutarco Pérez. Pérez was ordered to pay a three million peso indemnity to Cruz’s parents because the vehicle involved had been imported with a tax exemption granted by him.
Judge Alexandra Whebe Guzmán ruled that Eduardo Enrique Guzmán failed to take necessary precautions for pedestrian safety and condemned his decision to flee the scene after hitting the teenager.
Guzmán Valdez, owner of the black Porsche Panamera, was driving at high speed when he struck Cruz, who died hours later during surgery at a Santiago hospital. The accident occurred around 9:30am on 18 August 2022, as Cruz was on his way to baseball practice.
It is a common practice for deputies and diplomats alike to sell to third parties the full tax exemption they receive that allows for the importing of expensive vehicles. By law, the vehicle needs to remain in the ownership of the deputy or diplomat for two years, after which the owner of the vehicle should transfer the vehicle ownership. In this case, the ownership of the vehicle had not yet been transferred and thus the former congressman was held responsible.
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N Digital
Diario Libre
25 March 2025