Mother watched as driver fled injured daughter

The mother of a 14-year-old girl watched as her daughter was hit by a vehicle whose driver wound down the window and drove away. The daughter died in hospital.

The  judge of guarantees Harry Díaz, accepted the prosecutor’s request to label the case against  Cambio Democrático (CD) lawmaker, Mario Lázarus as  aggravated homicide

The decision was taken on Friday, February 16 in an hour-long hearing in the Supreme Court (CSJ), which began at 10:35 a.m.

Magistrate Angela Russo, who is acting as the prosecutor asked the judge to rate the possible crime as aggravated homicide, after sustaining the 15 elements of conviction of the incident and death of the girl.

The abuse of the minor occurred on the night of December 27,  in Buena Vista, in Colon province.

Among the elements of conviction presented were the statements of witnesses and reports of the National Police.

Russo cited, the report of Lieutenant Fernando Archibold, from the Colon police zone who received a radio message that there was an orange  Ford Ranger in “flight”, after being involved in an “outrage”.

When he found it, he interviewed the driver, who identified himself as Mario Lázarus. and  told him that he left the scene of the accident for “nervousness”

Russo also included, as an element of conviction, the testimony of the minor’s mother who explained that she was drinking a “soda in the mini-supermarket” that night.

She said that she watched her daughter cross the street when a white vehicle gave way; but as she approached the sidewalk, an orange car rolled over her. The driver, “just lowered the window, watched and left the place.’

The prosecutor also presented a “forensic accidentology” report which shows the state of the vehicle that was driven by the deputy.