POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A 17-year-old boy accused of killing two people in a fatal Valentine’s Day crash in Pembroke Pines is being charged as an adult.
Albert Oswaldo Yanez Quintana appeared in bond court, Friday morning. He faces charges of vehicular homicide following an investigation into a fatal crash in February that took the lives of an elderly couple.
An investigation into the crash revealed Quintana was speeding and driving recklessly behind the wheel of the involved vehicle, driving at an excessive speed northbound on Dykes Road when he struck a vehicle turning left onto Northwest 12th Street.
“The black box in the defendant’s vehicle recorded a speed of 86 miles per hour two-tenths of a second before the crash,” said prosecutor Ross Weiner.
“Albert was driving so fast that the impact split their car in half, sending both pieces in separate directions,” said another official.
According to Pembroke Pines Police, the two passengers in the second vehicle, 84-year-old Hugo Cardona Valencia and 69-year-old Patricia Fajardo De Cardona, succumbed to their injuries in the days after the crash. Several others in the area suffered injuries as well.
The couple’s son and grandson spoke via Zoom during Quintana’s court hearing.
“They will never be at my wedding. They will never hold my children. Every moment, every future memory with them, was stolen in that instant,” said Gabriel Cardona, the victims’ grandson.
“People that were only trying to celebrate on St. Valentine’s Day, at 6 p.m., 30-plus years of beig together,” said Hugo Cardona, the son of the victims.
The victims’ son described the teen as a danger.
“Someone who clearly would be dangerous even with the smallest tool, was around playing with the life of himself and the lives of everyone else around,’ he said.
“This is not a racetrack. It’s a community where families are living their lives,” said Gabriel.
Hugo fears that, should Quintana be released, another tragic incident will be repeated.
“We trust that justice will be delivered in this particular case,” he said. “I think that Mr. Quintana, in this case, if he’s not locked up and put away, will be here again very soon.”
Quintana is currently being held in the Broward County Jail, at the Paul Ryan facility in Pompano Beach, pending the result of the investigation and trial.
The judge set the teen’s bond at $350,000. He has since posted bond. When released, he will be required to wear a GPS ankle monitor.
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