Oaxaca, Mexico /
A judge of the Unitary Prosecution Court of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca issued a conviction against José Moisés García, driver of a public transport bus of the Zaachila Yoo line that on December 18, 2020 ran over and caused the death of the cyclist Gabriela Soto in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlánsouth of the metropolitan area of the state capital.
The resolution was issued this Thursday in a virtual audiencealmost four years after the events; However, it will not be until next October 3rd when the judge issues the corresponding sentence, although the victim’s representatives have reported that the penalty could fluctuate between 12 and 25 years in prison.
The person responsible remains hospitalized in the San Francisco Tanivet prison, in the district of Tlacolula de Matamoroseast of the capital, because, in two occasionsabusing the freedom he enjoyed, he fled.
The information was confirmed by Esther Soto —Gabriela’s sister—who for four years led various mobilizations demanding justice, in addition to creating the “Gabi Bici Blanca” initiative, which consists of place a bicycle in every place in the city where a cyclist is fatally run over.
“The line driver Zaachila Yoothe citizen Joseph Mosesis guilty of my sister’s death, is guilty of the homicide of Gabriela Soto García”said Esther, minutes after the verdict.
“With this a cycle closes in the search for justice for my sister, but it also opens a roadmap for all the people who unfortunately have had to go through and They will go through a road accident“, he said, on the verge of tears.
Soto highlighted that his sister’s case opens a precedent for the victims direct and indirect cases of drivers who drive irresponsibly have access to truth and justice and are not forced to conform only with repair agreements of damage, instead of stronger sanctions against drivers and public transport companies.
“An event as regrettable as the death of my sisteran event that could have been prevented can set a precedent so that other victims can have these tools and this access to justice and above all to the truth.”
Sentence of 12 to 25 years
The legal representatives of the family of Gaby Soto indicated that the conviction against the person responsible for the run over and death of the young woman will range between 12 and 25 years in prison.
The parties involved They were summoned next week to witness the reading of the sentence, after the man’s responsibility.
“In this trial the facts of the accusation were verifiedthat on December 18, 2020, Mr. José Moisés García was driving economic unit number 13 of the Zaachila Yoo line and when he invaded the lane, he ran over the cyclist Gabriela Soto Garcíawho was driving on the extreme right, complying with traffic regulations and this caused Gabi’s death,” explained the lawyer. Noemi Mariscal.
“Lack of care and objective duty that the driver had, to drive with the highest safety standards, he was injured and when he was injured he violated the legal right and in this case the life of Gabi Soto,” added the specialist.
After causing the manslaughter of Gaby, José Moisés García fled on two occasions: the first, after the events that occurred on the morning of December 18, 2020, when after having run over the young womanon the “Guadalupe Hinojosa” boulevard in Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, fled the scene aboard a bus from the same company and with whose driver he raced.
On the second occasion, during a hearing carried out remotely during the covid-19 pandemicthe man left the stagecoach with the argument of going to the bathroom, but he never came backwhich led to a re-arrest order being issued against him.
For two years now, remains in preventive detention.
Noemi Mariscal condemned that the Zaachila Yo company “never fulfilled” its social responsibility, since far from contributing to the investigations, accuses that his representatives hid witnesses and made the case move slowly.
“The role that the company should have assumed has not been done until this moment. All companies have the social responsibility to help trials in any matter be carried out. In this case, the Zaachila Yoo company has only hindered the process”, he highlighted.
“You have to question everything. Let us avoid making reparatory agreements made in such a way that road deaths remain in insurance company files; It goes beyond that: there is a person who lost his life and That deserves the dignity of being treated as such.”he added.
Attacks and threats
For her part, Esther Soto also complained that throughout the judicial process that began after the death of her sister has been pressured in multiple ways and even threatened to withdraw the lawsuit.
“We deny these rumors that Gabriela had been chased by dogs, that Gabriela had crashed the vehiclethat Gabriela had been guilty of her own death. A final verdict has already been reached, there is already a culpritthere is already justice for Gaby”Soto said.
“There were attacks from many sides, there were attempts at doubt, there were intimidations, there were threats… (We defended ourselves) with a solid file, with a file that they actually wanted to overthrow, that they wanted to call into question, that they wanted fill with doubt and uncertaintybut the portfolio was strong from the beginning.”
Regarding the threats he received, he indicated the following: “(They told me) that I was not going to go to trial; I never wanted to understand or ask why I wasn’t going to arrive, if I wasn’t going to arrive physically or why the trial wasn’t going to happen. They always wanted to intimidate me…”, he added.
Administrative process against the company
The lawyer Noemi Mariscal He added that Gabriela Soto’s family maintains an administrative lawsuit against the trucking company with the aim of take responsibility for the damage caused.
However, acknowledged that it is progressing slowly.
“There is a process at the administrative level that work is being done on what is going to happen with the concessions of these buses because it is a fact that it is a company that has repeatedly been part of traffic accidents in which in most cases they are responsible”, he highlighted.
“This is a process that is advanced in some stages.but that also, unfortunately, has not met the times established in the standard and is a little behind, but I think it is time for society and us to look again at the responsibilities of each one and in this look at the responsibilities of each We realize that there are many avenues to exhaust”.
The sentence issued in the case of Gaby Soto occurs in the middle of the analysis that authorities carry out to authorize a 25 percent increase in the cost of the ticket on urban buses in the metropolitan area of the city of Oaxacaso that it goes from eight to 10 pesos.
M.O.
