No Jail Time for Driver in Sandhill Crash That Killed Teen Passenger
A 23-year-old construction worker who caused a fatal crash on the Philip Goldson Highway two years ago has avoided prison after a High Court judge ordered him to pay compensation rather than serve time behind bars.
Justice Derick Sylvester handed down the sentence against Oscar Galindo Jr., who pleaded guilty to causing death by careless conduct in connection with the death of Denia Rowland. Galindo must pay Rowland’s mother, Erica Garnett, five thousand dollars in monthly instalments of four hundred dollars, beginning July 1st. Should he fail to complete payment by July 2027, he faces six months’ imprisonment instead.
The case stems from an April 6, 2024, incident between Miles 17 and 18 of the highway in Sandhill Village. According to facts agreed upon by the Crown and defence, Galindo had been socialising with Rowland and others before the group travelled from Ladyville to Sandhill Village and began heading back toward Belize City. While rounding a curve, Galindo told investigators he was momentarily blinded by the high beams of an oncoming vehicle, causing him to lose control of the pickup truck he was driving. The vehicle ran onto loose gravel and overturned, throwing Rowland, a passenger, into injuries that proved fatal.
Crown Counsel Maria Nembhard-Santana prosecuted the matter, while attorney Oscar Selgado represented Galindo. He was indicted on January 14th of this year and entered his guilty plea soon after, a factor the court credited heavily in arriving at a non-custodial sentence.
In a victim impact statement that laid bare the weight of her loss, Garnett told the court her daughter had been working while attending sixth form, determined to become a nurse. “She recalled the day she learned of her daughter’s death as a moment that has never fully faded. “I will never forget the moment my younger daughter told me that Denia had died. I was in complete shock,” she said. “I often think about the last words my daughter said to me and the beautiful dress she was wearing the last time I saw her. Every time I see the color pink, it reminds me of Denia.” Despite her grief, Garnett told the court she bears no ill will toward the man responsible. “Although I carry deep sadness and grief because of my daughter’s death, I do not hold any malice in my heart. I simply wish that my daughter was still here with us today.”
Galindo, in his own statement to the court, struggled to put his remorse into words. “I cannot find the proper words to express my true sorrow and personal grief that I hold for the families of the deceased and to the families of the survivors and to the survivors themselves,” he said. He asked for forgiveness from those affected. “I humbly ask all the family and friends of the deceased, and those injured in the traffic accident to find the strength to forgive me for causing such great pain and sorrow upon them,” he told the court, adding that he prays nightly for the Rowland family. “Every night before I sleep, I pray for those affected and I ask God to forgive me, and I also ask him to grant strength to the grieving family and friends to overcome their loss, and the strength to forgive me.”
His mother, Carmela Galindo, and sister, Indira Johanna Galindo, both testified to his character, describing a young man undone by guilt since the crash. “At the time of the accident my son visited me at home, and I had several discussions with him, and he always break down crying and expresses his sorrow to me and my other children,” his mother told the court. “As his mother, I believe my son is truly sorry.” His sister echoed the sentiment, telling the court, “I have had several discussions with Oscar after the accident, and he always cries and expresses his sorrow to me and my mom. I believe he is truly sorry.”
The court placed the offence at the lower end of culpability, setting an initial starting point of six months’ imprisonment. That figure was cut to two months once mitigating circumstances surrounding the crash itself were weighed, namely that the collision arose from being blinded by oncoming headlights rather than from any deliberate or reckless act.
The court did note one aggravating factor: Galindo had been drinking above the legal limit on the night of the crash. But that was outweighed, the judgment states, by a string of mitigating considerations, including Galindo had no prior criminal record, cooperated fully with investigators, and expressed what a Social Inquiry Report described as genuine remorse.
Those combined factors, along with the early guilty plea, were enough to move the case out of custodial territory entirely, the judge ruled, accepting a Crown recommendation that compensation serve as the appropriate disposition.