Ten months after two cousins were struck and killed on a Lemon Grove street, prosecutors have charged a 20-year-old man in connection with the fatal New Year’s Day crash.
Victor Zuniga pleaded not guilty in El Cajon Superior Court earlier this month to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in the deaths of cousins Nadia Charles, who had recently turned 20, and Junior Joseph Saint-Juste, who was days shy of his 21st birthday.
Zuniga is also charged with reckless driving resulting in a serious injury to the driver of another car involved in the collision. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison. At his arraignment, he was ordered to surrender his driver’s license and remain on house arrest.
The crash happened around 11:15 a.m. Jan. 1 at Buena Vista Avenue and Broadway. Two cars collided in the intersection, and the impact sent one of the cars into the path of the two pedestrians, investigators said at the time.
The ensuing investigation lasted several months. Sheriff’s officials said deputies sent the case to prosecutors to review in August.
“Authorities took the necessary time to conduct a full and fair investigation before moving forward,” Deputy District Attorney Philippa Cunningham said.
Defense attorney Peter Blair, who is representing Zuniga, said authorities allege his client was on his phone at the time of the crash, but Blair said he has not seen any evidence to show that was the case.
Blair noted the lengthy investigation and said it is “heavily in dispute as to whether my client is ultimately at fault between the two vehicles involved.” The attorney said it is also heavily disputed whether the alleged facts rise to the level of a gross negligence charge.
“My client is a young man with absolutely no criminal history,” Blair said, adding he is “an upstanding young man” who has dreams of working in law enforcement and/or going to law school, Blair said.
Blair said about two dozen supporters of Zuniga attended the arraignment.
In the days following the crash, the family, friends and community of the cousins mourned their deaths with a memorial set up across the corner from where the collision occurred.
The organizers of a fundraising event for the families said the cousins had survived earthquakes and extreme poverty to make the 3,000-mile journey from Haiti to San Diego County. Both were seeking asylum.
Friends said the family had worked tirelessly to ensure a better future for the pair. A pastor said both were studying English as a second language and hoped to enroll in school.
“They were kind people,” said Johny Oxeda, executive pastor of First Haitian Baptist Church Ebenezer in City Heights. “Gentle, quiet, and with dreams.”