A man was killed while four others were injured in that incident which happened on Dandan Road.
Variety learned that DPS personnel could not find Palacios at his residence to serve him the penal summons for his Feb. 11, 2010 court hearing.
On Dec. 31, 2009, Associate Judge Ramona V. Manglona dismissed without prejudice the criminal complaint against Palacios, then 21.
“The court finds that the recent handling of this case by the Office of the Attorney General is a travesty of justice,” Manglona said.
“Although it is a traffic case and not a criminal case, the charges against [Palacios] are nevertheless extremely serious because it includes the charge of vehicular homicide,” the judge added.
On Dec. 22, 2009, the court learned that the government through the AG’s office “is not and will not be able to go forward with the jury trial” scheduled for Jan. 12, 2010.
Two senior prosecutors would have left the AG’s Office by that date, and another prosecutor would be prosecuting another case around the same time, the court learned.
On April 8, 2009, the AG’s office charged Palacios with one count of vehicular homicide, one count of driving under the influence, three counts of reckless driving, and one count of driving on right side of highway.
On April 1, 2009, the complaint stated, Palacios was operating a south-bound pick-up truck but lost control of it, resulting in a collision with an SUV heading north on the same road.
One of Palacios’ four passengers died while the other three sustained serious injuries.
