Drunk driving, speeding figure in fatal highway crashes

By THE STAR STAFF

Three people died and two were in serious condition as a result of four road accidents reported between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning in the municipalities of Yabucoa, Mayagüez, Guayanilla and Dorado.

The first incident occurred at 4:25 p.m. Saturday on highway PR-901, kilometer 3.7, near the Tívoli business, in the Camino Nuevo neighborhood of Yabucoa. According to the preliminary investigation, a 31-year-old man was driving a 2023 KTM Duke motorcycle between lanes, passed other vehicles, and collided with a 2023 Toyota Corolla. The motorcyclist suffered serious injuries. Paramedics transported him to Ryder Hospital in Humacao, where his condition was described as critical. The driver of the car returned a breathalyzer test of 0.081% alcohol.

The second accident occurred at 11:57 p.m. Saturday on PR-64, kilometer 1.2, in Mayagüez. In this incident, motorcyclist Josué Manuel Malavé Bracero, 26, of Candelaria, died when his 2021 Sanmen 150T motorcycle -- with an expired license plate -- collided with a 2009 Scion TC vehicle. According to police, the driver of the Scion was under the influence of alcohol and returned a breathalyzer test of 0.13% alcohol.

At 1:40 a.m. Sunday morning, Ponce Highway Patrol officers responded to a fatal accident on PR-2, kilometer 205.2, in Guayanilla. The driver of a 2018 Mercedes-Benz E-300, identified as Wilfredo Beltrán Ramos, 54, of Guayanilla, was traveling westbound at excessive speed when he lost control of the steering wheel and struck a metal barrier. Beltrán Ramos died instantly.

Finally, at 3:26 a.m. Sunday morning, another fatal accident occurred at kilometer 25.2 of PR-165 in Dorado. According to preliminary information, a minor was driving a black 2024 Fengyuan Tank 200 motorcycle with a 20-year-old woman when he lost control and struck a rocky area near the beach. Both suffered serious injuries and were transported to the Río Piedras Medical Center, where the young woman died. The minor remained in critical condition on Sunday.

Highway patrol officers were investigating.