Corrections department provides no answer as to how drunk driver in fatal crash could be deported – NBC 6 South Florida

Tragedy struck again for three Miami-Dade families when county officials refused to explain how the man accused of causing a fatal triple-vehicle crash on West Flagler Street was deported to Honduras and escaped American justice.

Erwin Rommel Recinos Zuniga was arrested in 2022 and charged with 10 counts, including three counts of DUI manslaughter and three counts of negligent homicide. Police say he tested positive for THC and was driving at 203 km/h when he crashed.

Paola Sabillon, her boyfriend Jason Meza and his cousin Giselle Reyes were the passengers who succumbed to their injuries when Zuniga crashed into a gas station sign in Miami, according to police.

However, NBC6 exclusively reported last week that after two years of hoping for justice, the victims' families were stunned to learn that immigration authorities had deported the suspected drunk driver.

“He is being deported. He is alive. He is sleeping. He sees his family. My sister stopped growing at 19,” said Miriam Castillo, Sabillon's sister.

Three Miami-Dade families were robbed of justice after the man accused of killing their loved ones was deported before his trial. NBC6's Christian Colón reports

Judge Laura Cruz, the presiding judge in the Zuniga case, said Thursday that no one from the Department of Corrections informed her, the state or defense attorneys about the transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as protocol requires.

Records obtained by NBC6 show that Zuniga “violated the rules and regulations of the Monitored Release Bureau – House Arrest Program.” He was arrested on new charges related to his immigration status. The details of those charges were not disclosed.

Although Judge Cruz ordered corrections on Thursday to provide the families and the court with answers about why no one had been notified to prevent the deportation, prison staff sent their lawyers to court, but they did not respond, citing legal restrictions, departmental procedures and collective bargaining agreements, among other reasons.

District and prison attorneys added that an investigation into the matter is pending.

When asked by Assistant District Attorney Shawn Abuhoff whether the officer assigned to monitor Zuniga was performing some sort of desk job or was on leave during the investigation, Patricia A. Jones Cummings, an attorney for Miami-Dade Corrections, replied, “Yes, he is still an officer of this department.”

During Thursday's hearing, prosecutor Christine Zahralban told Judge Cruz that Zuniga was not the first defendant to be released from prison and turned over to immigration authorities while still facing charges locally.

Zahralban claims that a man named Cesar Julian Gonzalez Alvarado, who was accused of sexual assault on a minor charge, “was released from house arrest and sent to Louisiana. Someone tipped me off and I had him brought back from Louisiana just as he was getting on the plane.”

According to the documents, Gonzalez Alvarado has pleaded not guilty.

The Department of Corrections informed the court that it could provide an update in 180 days.

“They were three lives. They were not animals. They want to give six months, that's not right, we want answers now,” said Castillo. “They know what happened, they know where the ball dropped, and they don't want to admit it.”