A Miami-Dade judge sentenced Dayron Ramírez-Mesa, 21, to six and a half years in state prison for the involuntary manslaughter, under the influence of alcohol, of Dayana Abreu Pérez, a 40-year-old Cuban, which took place on December 14, 2025, in Kendale Lakes, part of Kendall.
According to the report by WSVN, the most shocking moment of the hearing was not the reading of the sentence, but what happened just moments before: Dayana's mother, holding a photograph of her daughter and speaking in Spanish through an interpreter, addressed the defendant directly.
"I hope what happened serves as a lesson for you. I forgive you," he said.
Mari Elyse Díaz, cousin of the victim, also chose to forgive, although she did not downplay the young man's responsibility: "You destroyed our family, but I hold no hatred in my heart towards you, I forgive you. However, forgiveness does not erase what you did. You made a series of decisions that killed Dayana."
Ramírez-Mesa responded to the family in Spanish, also with the help of an interpreter: "I never would have wanted that accident to cost Dayana her life."
His defense attorney attempted to contextualize the pain of both parties: "I can tell you that this is destroying my client from the inside, and his family as well. Two good families are being ruined by this."
In addition to the prison sentence, the judge imposed eight and a half years of probation, revoked the defendant's driver's license, and ordered him to pay 200 dollars annually to a victims' compensation fund, each year on the anniversary of Abreu Pérez's death.
The accident occurred shortly after 8:15 AM on December 14, 2025, at the intersection of SW 56th Street and SW 122nd Avenue. According to investigations, Ramírez-Mesa was driving his Tesla Cybertruck at a speed between 97 and 100 miles per hour in a zone with a 40 mph limit, ran a red light, and collided with two vehicles turning left.
Dayana, who was driving a Hyundai Sonata, became trapped in the vehicle and was pronounced dead at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital. Blood tests on the accused showed a blood alcohol level of 0.180, more than double the legal limit of 0.08 in Florida.
Dayana Abreu Pérez left behind two children, aged seven and 15. She had recently overcome a long battle with cancer, making her death, which occurred days before Christmas, even more devastating for those who knew her. In response to the tragedy, neighbors in southwest Miami-Dade set up an improvised altar at the crash site, and the family organized a GoFundMe campaign to support the two children.
Ramírez-Mesa, who had initially pleaded not guilty, changed his plea before the sentencing hearing. In Florida, involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol is a second-degree felony with a mandatory minimum sentence of four years and a maximum of 15. The six-and-a-half-year sentence exceeds that minimum, although it falls below the legal maximum.
The case had shocked the Cuban community in South Florida since, in May of this year, the Prosecutor's Office released the videos of the accident, which showed the Cybertruck overtaking several cars seconds before the impact.
"No sentence can undo what you did. One day you will return home, but Dayana will never come back, and that is a reality you created," said cousin Mari Elyse Díaz, with words that captured the feelings of a family that chose forgiveness without giving up on the truth.
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