A woman who was driving a car involved in a single-vehicle crash in which one of her passengers died pleaded guilty on Friday to causing death by careless driving.
Ygnacia Rafaelina Francisco Payero, 41, a Cuban national, had originally been charged with death by dangerous driving, in relation to the fatal collision in which her friend, 20-year-old Aleiny Revé Villegas, was killed in August 2022.
Payero pleaded not guilty to that charge before Justice Cheryll Richards in Grand Court Friday. Instead, she pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.
Payero was the driver of a white Honda Accord that crashed into a wall on Eastern Avenue, near Shedden Road, George Town, in the early hours of 8 Aug. 2022.
Three others were in the vehicle with her. Revé Villegas, who was also a Cuban national, was killed, and the other two passengers, as well as Payero, were injured in the smash.
Payero was ordered to return to court on 13 Dec., when social inquiry and victim impact reports will be considered. Her bail was extended until that date.
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So tragic, but one has to wonder how many lives would be saved if Cayman would adopt the US safety standards for automobiles? Instead, cars in Cayman crumple up like tin foil because there are no safety standards in place. It’s careless on the part of the government not to create a new law for imports so that lives would be saved.