On March 3, 2014, the emotional rollercoaster that began two years ago on the corner of 184th street and US1, finally came to a relatively satisfying conclusion. At five o’clock in the morning on April 13th, 2012, father Kirk Camacho was driving his daughters, junior Bree Ann Camacho and Southwood Middle School student Kaely Camacho. Kaely was sleeping in the backseat as they drove to school. Suddenly, a Land Rover driven by Sandor Guillen crashed into the minivan, separating the car and injuring the passengers. Unfortunately, 13-year-old Kaely Camacho did not survive the fatal accident.

The judge found Guillen, who obtained a blood alcohol level of .266 (three times the legal limit) an hour after the incident, guilty of vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter, and leaving the scene of an accident.

It might seem like an open-shut case to many on the outside but Guillen’s attorney fought a hard battle, referencing minor discrepancies in the filing of the case as attempts by the prosecution to falsify the records.

“They wanted to know if they could see my father’s original statement, his deposition from a year after, and an example of the kit used to take someone’s BAC (blood alcohol).” Bree Ann Camacho said. “Unfortunately, throughout trial, those pieces were not submitted into evidence; they were just talked about and testified about.”

The prosecution went as far a claim that Kirk Camacho had run a red light and been the true cause of the crash. But thanks to the strong amount of evidence against Guillen and the fact that the accident occurred while he was in the bus lane and intoxicated, the case was won in favor of the Camacho family.

“I had no clue what [the verdict was]. It’s scary thinking that everything I lived for was just determined by five members of the jury I had never seen in my life.” Camacho said. “That’s when the judge read all three charges one by one guilty.”

The wounds created in the hearts of the Camacho family and Palmetto students after this accident will never disappear. Class of 2016, the graduating class Kaely would be in, will always remember their lost friend. Still, a step has been made in the right direction. The main success of this trial lies not in healing, but in protecting the streets from the reckless Guillen and hopefully in dissuading even one person from unwittingly following in his path.

“After the third guilty, I was so relieved and this was the moment where it was all supposed to be over but that’s when I realized it’s not. She’s still not here.” Camacho said. “Don’t get me wrong, seeing him being handcuffed after a long trial of showing no remorse gave me peace in some sense. Maybe now he will see what he did, and now we will never be able to hurt another innocent human being like my sister, Kaely Camacho.”