Teen Accused In Triple Fatal Drag Race Pleads Not Guilty
DORAL - (CBS4) - A teen accused of killing three of his friends in a reported drag race the weekend before the first day of school pleaded not guilty Tuesday to three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Nineteen year-old Alberto De Jesus Coteron Oliva was at the wheel of a Honda Civic that police say was involved in an impromptu drag race on Northwest 12th Street in Doral on the night of August 20th. Oliva lost control of the car which careened at a high rate of a speed into a concrete utility pole, splitting in two.
Oliva's friends, 17 year old Veronica Santiago and 17 year old Daniel Cardenas were killed, as was Oliva's girlfriend 15 year-old Isis Jimenez.
The driver of a black Infiniti, the other car involved in the alleged drag race, has never been located.
Outside the courtroom Tuesday, two of the victim's parents tearfully pleaded for the system to deal harshly with Oliva.
"I want him to get the maximum so I can have some peace of mind, and so that this won't happen to another family or another child," said Daniel Cardenas, Sr., father of Daniel Cardenas.
Oliva is free on bond, to the chagrin of some of the victim's families.
"I want there to be justice for my daughter," said Maria Catalan, the mother of Veronica Santiago. "It can't stay this way. I want there to be justice."
The young people had been hanging out at the Dolphin Mall before the accident. Following the crash, Oliva ran from the scene, but later turned himself in.
The defendant left the courthouse Tuesday without speaking to reporters, but his attorney said there "was no criminal intent" in the fatal crash.
"What he's going through is horrible. It's a shock to him," said Oliva's attorney, Sara Shulevitz. "It's a tragic, terrible accident. For the families, it's a tragedy."
Antonio Jimenez, an attorney representing two of the victims' families took a much less kind view.
"What we want is justice in this case," Jimenez said. "The families are not going to be happy until Alberto is doing a long sentence in prison."
Judge Victoria Brennan scheduled a hearing for January 17th, when a trial date is expected to be set. Oliva, if convicted on all counts, faces a statutory maximum of 180 years in prison, but a long sentence would appear unlikely given his previously clean record.
