Families in Miami are demanding answers after a suspected drunk driver accused of killing three people in a 2022 crash was deported to Honduras before standing trial. Authorities say 26-year-old Erwin Rommel Recinos Zuniga was allegedly driving 126 miles per hour when he lost control and slammed into a gas station sign on West Flagler Street.
His passengers, 19-year-old Paola Sabillon, her boyfriend Jason Meza, and his cousin Giselle Reyes, were all killed. “She was only 19 years old when she stopped living. She had dreams, and all that was taken away,” said Miriam Castillo, Sabillon’s sister.
Zuniga faced 10 charges, including three counts of reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence manslaughter. Records show he was placed on house arrest while awaiting trial, despite objections from the victims’ families.
On September 6, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Zuniga to Honduras. The families say they were not informed until six days later, when Zuniga failed to appear in court, according to NBC affiliate WTVJ.
“We had no type of answers,” said Castillo, who described the decision as devastating. “If we have to walk outside the courthouse, and if we have to make noise, we will make noise, because he has to come back. He has to come back, and he has to pay for what he did.”
7News obtained records showing the Miami-Dade County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation signed off on Zuniga’s release to immigration authorities. A spokesperson for the department said the matter is now under review.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Laura Shearon Cruz expressed frustration after learning of the deportation. “The defendant has now been deported to Honduras. You could have kept him here for trial, had we known,” she said in court. “We only found out when we had no idea where the defendant was, before we started the case for trial. These are definitely heinous crimes.”
Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney Christine Zahralban told the families her office was never notified of any plans for deportation. “We have to work together and fix this,” she said.
Cruz and corrections officials confirmed an internal investigation is underway, a process that could take up to six months. For the victims’ families, the unanswered questions remain painful. “Very mad, because how is someone who made a mistake that big, like, still there?” Castillo said.