Fugitive wanted in fatal Florida crash extradited from Jamaica

A man wanted for more than two decades in Miami-Dade County, Florida over a fatal vehicular crash has been extradited from Jamaica to the United States.

US authorities did not indicate when convicted fugitive Christopher Harvey was extradited.

In a statement, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle indicated that Harvey was arrested on January 31, 1999, and charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

The charges stemmed from a car crash that occurred at the intersection of Northwest 199th Street and Northwest 37th Avenue in Miami-Dade County in the early hours of January 30.

He ran a red light while going at an estimated speed of 75 miles per hour.

The collision killed 24-year-old Daylin Bueno, a mother of two, 37-year-old Becky Ballestas Marquez, also a mother of two children, and 24-year-old Maria Arandaans, a college student in town to visit her grandmother.

After the crash, Harvey fled the scene without attempting to render aid to the victims.

On March 27, 2000, Harvey entered a plea of no-contest to all charges.

The Criminal Court found him guilty and sentenced him to 12 ½ years in prison.

At his lawyer’s request, the court gave Harvey until June 1, 2000, to get his affairs in order, at which point he was to turn himself in to begin serving his sentence.

Instead, Harvey fled the country.

The US authorities indicated that a tip was received in 2007 that Harvey was possibly in custody in Cuba.

However, a lack of formal relations between Cuba and the US made extradition nearly impossible.

In 2019, information was acquired that Harvey was in Jamaica.

After a request to Jamaica for his extradition was submitted, he was taken into custody by the Jamaican authorities and has now been returned to Miami.

“The families of these three women killed by Christopher Harvey were revictimised when he fled the country in 2000. Mr Harvey admitted his guilt in Criminal Court but ran away from his personal responsibility for these crimes, just as he ran away on the night of this dreadful incident 22 years ago,” said Fernandez Rundle.

“Thanks to the resolute efforts and commitment of my prosecutors and staff in the Extradition Section of my Legal Unit and the commitment of the US Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, Jamaica Fugitive Apprehension Team, and Homeland Security Investigations, Christopher Harvey will now see the justice he so long sought to avoid. Today is certainly a day these victimised families have long waited to see,” she continued.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.