Residents of the San Gerónimo neighborhood in Santo Domingo’s National District are reeling from a preventable fatal traffic incident that claimed the life of a beloved local elder just weeks shy of his 90th birthday. Leslis Santana, 89, died Thursday afternoon after being struck by a motorcyclist while crossing Núñez de Cáceres avenue, a tragedy that was fully captured on nearby security camera footage.
Witness accounts confirm that Santana had been returning home from a routine grocery run at a neighborhood supermarket when the collision unfolded. Multiple motorcyclists traveling along the route had already slowed and stopped to grant the elderly pedestrian right of way to cross safely. But a separate motorcyclist, ignoring basic road safety rules, attempted a reckless overtake of the stopped vehicles with no advance warning or caution, directly striking Santana before any evasive action could be taken.
For the tight-knit San Gerónimo community and Santana’s family, the loss cuts especially deep. Santana was just two months away from celebrating his 90th birthday in July, and neighbors and loved ones remembered him as an active, independent, and exemplary member of the neighborhood who maintained his vibrancy late into life.
In the wake of the crash, Santana’s relatives have framed the incident not as an unavoidable accident, but as a deadly consequence of widespread reckless driving and a lack of respect for pedestrian safety. “This is an irreparable loss caused by a lack of road safety awareness. It wasn’t a simple accident, but the result of the irresponsibility of those who don’t respect the lives of pedestrians,” a family member stated.
The Santana family has issued a formal demand for a full, transparent investigation into the collision, calling for full legal accountability for the motorcyclist responsible for the death of their loved one.