GREENACRES — Arsenio Almaguer cried tears of joy when he hugged his sister at Miami International Airport eight months ago. He’d waited 48 years to reunite with Yanela and had asked her, her husband and their two sons to come from Cuba to start a new life in the U.S.
This month, Arsenio got a call and dropped to his knees. A two-car crash had killed Yanela, Alejandro and Diego, 10. Fabio, his 2-year-old nephew, was the only survivor.
The Almaguer family and their attorneys are trying to find out exactly what happened on the night of July 10 on on Military Trail near Miner Road in suburban Boynton Beach, not far from the family’s first apartment in the U.S.
They want to hear from anyone who witnessed the crash, and they are waiting on the results of a toxicology report on the driver whose car hit the family's sedan before deciding how to proceed. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation.
“They had just started a new life,” Arsenio said in Spanish at a news conference Tuesday at the office of the family's attorney, Scott B. Smith, in Palm Beach Gardens. “Their dream was to see Dieguito and Fabio go to college and have careers.”
“Now that dream is gone,” added their brother, Adrián Almaguer.
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PBSO probes whether SUV driver in fatal crash was under influence of drugs or alcohol
On the night of the crash, Alejandro “Alex” Cordovez, was driving a Volkswagen Jetta northbound on Military with Yanela by his side and his two sons Diego, and Fabio in the back.
At about 7:30 p.m. a Lexus SUV entered Military Trail with a sweeping left-hand curve, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office crash report.
The two vehicles approached Miner Road with the Lexus traveling at a “high speed” before the traffic light changed to yellow and the SUV “violently” collided into the rear of the Volkswagen, the report said.
The impact propelled Cordovez’s Jetta over the edge of the road. The Lexus overturned and came to a stop on the swale facing southwest.
The Lexus driver, a 54-year-old woman from Lake Worth Beach, is suspected of being under the influence of either drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, PBSO said.The sheriff's office is still investigating the fatal crash and is waiting for a complete toxicology report of the driver. Charges are pending against the Lexus driver once the investigation is complete.
Paramedics declared Yanela and Diego Almaguer dead at the scene and rushed Alex, Fabio and the Lexus driver to Delray Medical Hospital.
Alex died of his injuries days later. Medics found Fabio had fractured his left femur.
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The last time Arsenio saw Yanela, whose given name was Geichy, he was 17 and she still played with dolls. Ever since, they always talked on the phone but it wasn’t until the family moved in with him to Greenacres in November that they got to know each other as adults.
Arsenio described Yanela as soft-spoken, delicate and passionate about women’s rights. She was a loving mother and always went to him for advice on her kids' schooling, how to speak English and find a job.
“She was sensible like a flower, ever since she was a little girl,” Arsenio said with a wide smile and tears drowning in his dry lips.
The crash wrecked the family’s life.
“When we had to call our family in Cuba, it was devastating,” Arsenio said in Spanish.
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Yanela was skeptical about leaving her mother and family in Cuba, Arsenio said. But she wanted her kids to have the opportunities she had never had on the Caribbean island about 300 miles from Miami.
Her goal was to work hard and send them to college. Diego liked nature and science and Fabio was wide-eyed with a giggly personality.
At first, Arsenio said, it was hard for them to adapt. They had never left Cuba before.
First, they enrolled Diego in elementary school. Yanela started taking English classes, and Alex found a tough but well-paying job installing doors and windows.
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Then, the boys made friends. Yanela started to shop on her own and meet other moms in the neighborhood. Alex came home late from work but was excited by everything he was learning on the job and soon bought a car.
In March, the couple rented their first apartment in suburban Boynton Beach.
Adrian Almaguer, their brother who lives in Puerto Rico, said the crash robbed his sister’s family of their future.
“They were happy for the opportunity to raise the kids in the U.S.,” Adrian said. “They were planning everything ahead for the future.”
The issue for the Almaguer family: Raising Fabio, the 2-year-old survivor
Arsenio, his wife Hilda and his 11-year-old son have been taking care of Fabio since the crash. During his first days without his parents, Fabio didn't want to eat.
“He asks for Mami, Papi and Dieguito,” Arsenio said. “I don’t know what to say. I try talking about another thing but he remembers. He remembers the names, everything.”
The family has gathered to support Fabio to give him the most normal daily life possible. Arsenio carries him to look at mango trees and reads him colorful children's books, Fabio’s favorite activity with Yanela.
“The story is beginning,” Arsenio said. “Now he's a kid, but what about when he begins to grow? And we have to tell him the truth.”
Adrian said the family has requested for their mother, Fabio’s grandmother, to come to the U.S. to help raise Fabio.
“We're doing all that we can to support and love him,” Adrian said “But we’re never going to be able to replace them.”
Scott B. Smith, the Palm Beach Gardens-based attorney who is representing the Almaguer family, asked that anyone with information regarding the crash on July 10 contact his office at (561) 675-0840 or ssmith@smithball.com.
Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her atvpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism:Subscribe today.
