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A woman of Indian origin residing in Georgia has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the accident that claimed the life of the Cuban Omar Ortiz, a young father who had arrived in the United States just a few days before the tragic event and whose case deeply moved both his family on the island and the Cuban community abroad.
Sonal Nandkishor Patel, 40 years old, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, reported the local media Shore News Network.
He will have to serve seven years in a state penitentiary and, upon his release, will face an additional 18 years of probation, according to the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office.
The accident occurred in February 2024 on Interstate 85. According to the investigation, Patel had been awake for two days, had consumed alcohol, the medication Trazodone, used to treat anxiety and depression, and had cocaine in the vehicle. Furthermore, he was driving with a suspended license.
In that state, she stopped in the middle of the highway and fell asleep at the wheel. The car in which Omar Ortiz was traveling, driven by a relative identified as Leticia Almaguer, collided with Patel's stopped vehicle. Omar died instantly.
Images from the body camera of the officers showed that, even after the impact, Patel said he was "fine," while Ortiz's family was left devastated.
The woman already had a history of driving under the influence in 2007, and despite this, she managed to be released on bail twice during the proceedings. This decision outraged the family of the young Cuban man. “We are very disappointed… she is a repeat offender,” lamented the family's lawyer, Karina Deochand, in statements to local media.
A migratory dream cut short in 24 hours
Omar Ortiz had arrived in the U.S. through humanitarian parole on January 28, 2024, and died the following day when his wife's relatives took him out for dinner to celebrate his arrival.
After the accident, his family in Cuba started a desperate fundraiser to repatriate the body. His stepmother, Diana Pérez, requested assistance: “There is a devastated family here in Cuba (children), friends.”
His wife, Maylin Rodríguez, also called for support: “We are devastated... every bit counts.”
Leticia Almaguer, who was traveling with Omar at the time of the accident, recounted that the young man had arrived "with the hope of creating a better future for his two children."
Friends and loved ones also expressed their sorrow. "Brother, friend, father… you will always be in our hearts," wrote one of them after the tragedy.
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