Lawyer accused of fatal highway crash claims shock and pain

A lawyer and university professor, Andrés Prieto, is facing serious charges after allegedly causing a fatal car crash on the Pan-American Highway. Prieto, 37, is accused of culpable homicide, serious injury, and tampering with evidence.

“

That I am alive is a miracle.

The incident occurred when Prieto's vehicle rear-ended a car stopped in one of the highway's lanes with its hazard lights on. The driver of the other vehicle, 31-year-old Ivonne Pamela Escobar Camacho, who worked as a ride-share driver, died from her injuries. A passenger in her car was also injured, as was Prieto.

Prieto stated that after the crash, he was in severe pain and shock, with a dislocated finger and chest pain. He claims a medic attended to him and advised him to go to a hospital for further examination. He asserts that he left the scene to seek medical attention, not to evade authorities or a sobriety test.

“

When I found out that the driver of the other car had died, I was very sad.

However, Prieto did not undergo an alcohol test at the scene. He was later taken to a private clinic by a relative and subsequently went home. He was arrested two days later by police based on a request from the prosecutor's office.

“

The ambulance came and a doctor attended to me, she gave me the first aid for my leg, where I had a lot of pain, as if I had stuck an instrument from the car or something into it. When I got out of the car, my right pinky finger was bent backward. Then I remember (or what I try to remember), they splinted my finger and as I was short of breath and had a lot of chest pain, in a state of absolute shock, she [the doctor] told me that they had to do tests to confirm that I didn't have internal organs injured. She told me that we had to wait or that I could go if I had health insurance or pay privately, to the clinic of my choice.