Four students were killed Wednesday morning in an accident that occurred in San Rafael de San Ramón, Alajuela, 65 km northwest of San José.
A group of nine senior students from Julio Acosta García High School in San Ramón were hit by a driver in a Toyota Tercel while walking on the side of the road, according to the daily La Nacíon. The newspaper reported that the group had been singing a serenade, a tradition among students in their last year of high school.
Dennis Méndez, Luis Alonso Solís and Angie Miranda, all 18, died at the scene. A fourth victim identified as 18-year-old Iván Elizondo died at Hospital Mexico. President Laura Chinchilla declared three days of mourning in the afternoon.
A fifth student, identified as 17-year-old Joxiny Hidalgo, died Saturday morning.
The accident occurred at approximately 4 a.m.
The Judicial Investigation took the driver, whose last name is Chavarría, into custody. According to La Nación, Chavarría is a 25-year-old prison guard at La Reforma Prison in Alajuela. He was allegedly driving on a license that expired in 2006, his vehicle had a circulation permit from another automobile, and the car’s vehicle inspection sticker was issued for a motorcycle.
