QCOSTARICA – On national television, Esperanza Gamboa, mother of the 17 year old girl killed in a traffic accident last Friday, called on the country to unite against drunk drivers.
‘The death of my daughter was no accident, it was murder”, said Esperanza through her tears.
It was Friday afternoon, on April 3, when seventeen year old Veronica Guerrero Gamboa, was returning from Guanacaste to her home in Escazu, after enjoying the beach with friends and under the care of the mother of one of them, journalist and television personality, Maricruz Leiva.
Esperanza said she received a text from her daughter, minutes before the accident, telling her about the ‘perfect’ trip was perfect, delicious food, dancing and walks on the beach.
At about 4: 15 p. m., when the car driven by Leiva was a kilometer from Ciudad Colón toll, on the Rute 27, the joy was marred for families.
A 22 year old Nicaraguan, identified by his last name, Castro, who police said was driving drunk crossed the media and truck the vehicle driven by Leiva, head-on.
Veronica died in hospital, while Leiva, her son and another friend sustained serious injuries and are still in hospital today.
“This was not an accident … He knew what he was doing. This is not a wrongful death, it is premeditated murder,” Gamboa said yesterday, at a press conference after the criminal judge in San Jose, Julio Gamboa, freed the man without precautionary measures, although the prosecutor asked for six months of detention.
The justification of the judge was that the accused (drunk driver) has work and family roots. The court was told that the young man is the main breadwinner for his parents and two siblings and has worked at the same company for the past two years.
The judge noted that the young man has lived 21 years in Costa Rica and has a valid cedula (identification paper).
“If run into him (the suspect) face-t-face, I will kill him, and the judge will have to set me free because I have 48 years living in Costa Rica, I have roots, ” the mother said.
“God may forgive him, but I will not … I know that there is a heavenly law that will punish (him), but, excuse me, I’m human, and this degenerate I want to see in jail,” said Gamboa.
The woman stressed that the country needs zero tolerance laws for drunk drivers and that families should educate their young.
Veronica would have celebrated her 18th birthday on May 7.
