Three years after the accident involving a bus, which caused the death of 23 people, the Power of attorney will hold the first pretrial detention hearing against the owners of the company involved. Is about Palomino International Express, which is owned by Ronmel Palomino Ortiz, recent winner of the Caminos del Inca competition; Wilman Palomino Ortiz and Rosa Palomino Ortiz. For their part, relatives of the aggrieved demand a fair process.
In November, the Prosecutor’s Office recently formalized the accusation against those involved. For example, for the Palomino brothers, 10 years and 4 months in prison were requested. Meanwhile, 6 years in prison is requested for Percy Guizado Palomino, who is the manager of the company, and 14 years in prison for the driver Sebastián Choquehuanca Herrera. All of them are investigated for alleged crimes against life, body and health (homicide), serious injuries, minor injuries, culpable injuries.
Accusation
The accident It was recorded exactly at dawn on October 1, 2019, the day on which the Palomino company bus got lost and fell into an abyss on the Interoceanic highway, when it was heading from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado, and mobilized 55 people.
On the research, the Prosecutor’s Office established that the drivers had not rested enough, Well, after making a 24-hour trip from Lima to Cusco, they only waited four hours and left again for the city of Puerto Maldonado. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the Palomino brothers had a legal duty to take corrective action to define the drivers’ working hours and they did not: “The omission has caused death and injuries.”
Palomino company bus fell into an abyss in October 2019. Photo: La República
So far, the results of the expert opinion to the damaged unit that alerts about a “illegal modification”. The party document states that the factory dimension of the car’s chassis is 9 meters, but the body is 14 meters. Both measurements are not compatible.
slow and painful process
The case is controversial because it has been a long time since this unfortunate case occurred and there is still no justice for the relatives. The work of the Prosecutor’s Office was also questioned. Relatives and company workers denounced that prosecutor César Guevara Candia had close contact with Percy Guizado Palomino, manager of the company. Guevara was initiated a process for functional misconduct, as well as alleged crimes of corruption of officials, specific passive bribery.
Recently, Almendra Pacheco, daughter of one of the victims of the tragedy, detailed to The Republic that the formalization of the accusation is a great step to achieve justice, but regretted that this process is so complicated.
“We are sorry because this whole situation occurred because we have lost important people in our lives,” he said.
Owners of Palomino transport asked to annul the investigation process, according to relatives of victims
Almendra Pacheo, a relative of one of the victims, told La República that since a judicial process was opened for the death of 23 people and 32 injured in the accident in Cusco. The Palomino family has only sought to delay more time and even cancel the investigation.
“The palomino family He has presented two briefs, one demanding that the judge be changed and the second requesting that the request for preventive detention be annulled, and that the case go to zero, that is, that the entire investigation be annulled. This is totally unfair because this process has taken more than three years,” he declared.