PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A small collection of flowers and candles sits by a post on South Military Trail near Lake Worth Beach.
That's where Alejandro Rodriguez, 46, his wife Yanela Almaguer Perez, 43, and her 10-year-old son Diego Almaguer died in a July 10 crash.
Fabio Almaguer, 2, survived the wreck with a broken leg.
A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report said Dawn Howard, 44, of Lake Worth was speeding behind the family of four's car when she rear-ended their Volkswagen.
Howard was arrested later that night at the hospital. According to the criminal affidavit, she slapped the wrist of a deputy and was charged with assault.
Region S Palm Beach County
'Such a young family': Neighbors remember victims of double fatal crash
According to the lawyer for Fabio Almaguer's family, she also potentially faces DUI charges when blood test results are returned.
At a Tuesday news conference at the office of a Palm Beach Gardens law firm, attorney Scott Smith made a plea to find out more about what Howard was doing before the crash.
"I am calling upon our greater Palm Beach County community to assist us, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in searching for, finding and conclusively determining the truth into why this violent and multi-fatality crash occurred," Smith said.
Fabio is now in the care of his uncle and aunt in Palm Beach County.
His uncle, Arsenio Almaguer, said the child is confused and often asks for his mother's whereabouts.
Another uncle, Adrian Espinosa, joined the news conference via Zoom from Puerto Rico. The family had just left Cuba in November under a new law that allows qualifying Cubans with U.S.-based supporters to fly to the U.S. and be allowed to work and live here temporarily.
"They arrived with hopes and dreams, happy for the opportunity to raise the kids in the U.S.," Espinosa said. "And everything was gone in one second. Everything."
Smith asked anyone with information on the wreck to call his law firm at (561) 500-4357 or the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office at (561) 688-3400.
