Telenovela star is convicted of causing the death of another man in a road-rage incident.
Pablo Lyle, 35, got into an altercation with another driver, Juan Ricardo Hernández, 63, in Miami, after Lyle’s car cut off Hernández’s,According to the Miami Herald.
According to the outlet, Hernández then got out of his car and began allegedly screaming and banging on Lyle’s car.
Security camera footageshowed Lyle rushing up to Hernández and punching him in the face before Hernández’s body hit the ground. Two witnesses saw Lyle fleeing the scene after he hit the other actor, according to the Herald.
According to NBC 6, the defense argued Lyle was acting in self-defense because they claimed he was still in fear for his children after Hernández had pounded on the car window Lyle was riding in, but witnesses testified that Hernández had his hands up in a defensive posture, and that there was no need for Lyle to hit him.
Family members told the Herald that Hernández’s brain injury led to an internal hemorrhage that left him unconscious. After several days in the hospital, he was taken off life-support.
Hernández died at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida and Lyle was arrested while at the Miami International Airport a few days later, according to the Herald and WPLG.
Lyle was found guilty of manslaughter. According to a press releaseKatherine Fernandez Rundle is a Miami-Dade State Representative.
Fernandez Rundle stated in the statement: “Today’s jury verdict finding Pablo Lyle guilty of the manslaughter death of 63-year-old Juan Ricardo Hernández shows the outrageous destructiveness of ‘Road Rage’ incidents,
“Simple road anger caused the destruction of two lives, something we see all too often on our streets.” continued the statement.
According to local reports, the actor could face up to 15 years in prison, but Hernández’s family doesn’t feel that sentencing is sufficient.
“He deserves more years, so he and his family suffer like we’re suffering,” Debora Ramos, Hernández’s sister, said to NBC 6.
According to NBC 6,jurors deliberated for over four hours before deciding on the guilty verdict.
Fernandez Rundle stated that she is “very proud of the efforts and hard work by Assistant State Attorneys Shawn Abuhoff and Gabriela Alfaro that has brought a measure of justice to Mr. Hernández’ surviving family.”
Circuit Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez will decide if some of Lyle’s time will be served via house arrest. His pre-sentencing trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 26 at 9 a.m., according to WPLG.
Per the outlet, Hernández’s widow was seen and heard sobbing during the hearing , while Lyle’s family yelled, “We love you” and “stay strong,” as he was taken from the courtroom, according to the local outlet WSVN.
According to the outlet, Lyle’s face remained stoic and his lawyer left the courtroom silently after the verdict was given.
“[Juan] was an amazing person, always happy, everyone loved him. At work they loved him too,” Ramos told NBC 6.
“It has been and will be a very difficult world for them without Juan Ricardo. He was a joyous, caring man who loved his family and enjoyed life,” Hernández’s family attorney Zena Duncan said to WPLG.
“No measure of justice will right the injustice that occurred on that street.”