The driver in the traffic accident that left 3 dead in Los Ríos had high levels of alcohol in his blood, says the Public Prosecutor’s Office

At the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, a court in the National District imposed preventive detention, as a coercive measure, on a man accused of causing a traffic accident in which three people died, including a minor, during an incident that occurred in the Los Ríos sector, on August 5, 2026.

Manuel Joaquín Payán Morales will have to serve two months of preventive detention in the Najayo Men’s Correction and Rehabilitation Center (CCR-17) by order of the Fourth Chamber of the Special Traffic Court of the National District.

According to the request presented by the prosecutor Alcedo Magarín, the accused was driving a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado truck while intoxicated when he ran over the victims on Coronel Juan María Lora Fernández Avenue, at the corner of República de Colombia Avenue, near a gas station, in the National District.

As a result of the impact, Dieufort Gesner, a Haitian national, died, as well as two other people, a woman and a minor.

During the hearing, the Public Prosecutor presented various documentary evidence linking the accused to the events, including the traffic report issued by the General Directorate of Traffic Safety and Land Transportation (Digesett).

Also included was the breathalyzer test performed on the defendant, which yielded a result of 0.91 milligrams of alcohol per liter of exhaled air, a level that far exceeds the limit allowed by Law 63-17 on Mobility, Land Transport, Transit and Road Safety.

Also, the arrest report for the flagrant offense, the death certificate issued by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF), and the identification documents of the driver and the vehicle involved.

In assessing the evidence presented, the court found the defendant’s connection to the events under investigation to be reasonable and concluded that preventive detention is the most appropriate measure to ensure the progress of the investigation and clarify the circumstances of the case.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office gave the process the provisional legal classification of violation of articles 256, 303, numeral 5, and 304, numeral 2, of Law 63-17.

The mandatory review of the measure was set for October 12, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

Judge Elianny Mena Ureña, of the Fourth Chamber of the Special Traffic Court of the National District, imposed the coercive measure against the defendant.