Man accused of fatal crash that killed jogger, in critical condition after hospital clash
In a letter last week to his mother last week, the hospital reported that Andres Roberto Fiallo Estupinan's condition had declined so rapidly that he was in 'critical' condition. He had been initially admitted for an foot injury after police say he fled from the scene of the horrific hit-and-run.
Attorney Bradley Horenstein said police and hospital personnel wouldn't allow him to see his client for a week after he was admitted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. The lawyer said he was finally able to visit Estupinan after a judge ordered police to allow him behind the curtain of the hospital's Intensive Care Unit on June 16.
Estupinian has not yet been formally charged but witnesses and police say he was behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Jetta that struck jogger Andrew Loretta, 50, so severely on the evening of June 10 that it severed his legs. Estupinan is accused of then careening his car into an ice cream truck and other vehicles. After the crash, he was hospitalized with a broken foot.
Since then his condition has deteriorated rapidly. Jackson Health System sent Estupinan's mother in Chile a letter last week saying she should rush to her son's bedside. The letter provided to the Miami Herald and signed by the hospital's Trauma Intensive Care Unit, says Catalina Lourdes Estupinan Saltos should be considered for a humanitarian visa because her son is in 'critical' condition.
Why Estupinan's condition turned so grave is a mystery.
Miami Police have refused to discuss the case. They won't say if officers used Tasers to subdue the suspect. They won't even admit an officer has been sentry outside Estupinan's curtained room since he was admitted to Jackson on June 10.
As for his client's condition, Horenstein said 'I don't know if it's because he was Tasered. I don't know if it's because he was sedated. But it's alarming for sure. He went in with a broken ankle and nothing else.'
Horenstein said when he was finally permitted to see Estupinan, he was stunned. A thick hose was inserted down his throat and bandages across his face held it in place. The attorney said he was unable to communicate with his client and that when he visited again later in the week, nothing had changed.
'It's an image that sticks in my head,' the attorney said.
The sudden death of Loretta, a married telecommunications executive with two teenage children, has dazed Coral Way neighbors and devastated his family. Friends and family said his passions were soccer and jogging, that he moved to Miami from California in 2000 and that he spoke English, Spanish and Portugese.
Family members around the state called Loretta 'selfless' and said he was always there for anyone who needed help.
'I can't speak enough about what a great leader he was for his family. We're all really hurting,' said cousin John Loretta, who lives in Kendall.
'Everybody's heartbroken. It's still very fresh,' said another cousin, St. Petersburg resident Kristin Joy Loretta.
A GoFundme page set up for Andrew Loretta had raised more than $188,000 as of Wednesday. In a post on the site his wife said she was 'heartbroken.'
'It all just makes me cry in a bittersweet way - to feel so much love while in so much pain - is the most overwhelming thing I've ever experienced,' she wrote.
Residents tackled suspect in nearby park
Estupinan, a 36-year-old Chilean, is in the U.S. on a work visa, his attorney said. Horenstein said his client recently graduated from Boston University with a Master's degree and was living in Coral Gables. Horenstein said he had a job - though couldn't identify what type of work it was - two weeks ago when police say he crashed into Loretta just before sunset near the corner of Southwest 21st Avenue and 18th Street.
The crash so violent, police said, that Loretta was thrown more than 170 feet. Witnesses say Estupinan then veered his car into an ice cream truck and two other vehicles before getting out and running. He was tackled to the ground in nearby Shenandoah Park by residents who witnessed the incident and who detained him until police arrived.
Estupinan's arrest report that day said he was speeding and that his driver's license had expired. It also said he was charged with two felonies, leaving the scene of a deadly crash and leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury. Despite the arrest affidavit, a Miami Police source this week said Estupinan will not be officially charged until they determine he's recovered sufficiently or is released from the hospital.
Did mental lapse lead to scrap at hospital?
Though police won't discuss the chain of events that led to Estupinan's condition, witness and written accounts indicate he may have been suffering an emotional breakdown before the fatal crash and the confrontation at the hospital that left him in his current state.
In the weeks leading up to the crash that ended Loretta's life, Estupinan was receiving telemedical psychological help from a doctor in Chile, according to Horenstein and his medical records. The attorney said two days before the crash, a cousin tried to get the suspect in the hit-and-run some help at Coral Gables Hospital, which ultimately released him.
'The psychiatrist felt he needed to see a doctor,' said Horenstein, who added his client might have been depressed but that his family said he didn't appear distressed or suicidal.
A five-page psychiatric evaluation of Estupinan from June 14 says the patient became so agitated at the hospital that he tore out his line, jumped out of the bed naked while handcuffed and swore before he was 'tased by PD [Miami police officers] multiple times which did not have any effect.'
Estupinan was so disturbed, a doctor wrote, that he thrashed himself against a vent on a wall and set off a hospital alarm. 'Finally the patient was held down, given IM meds and subsequently intubated,' a psychiatrist wrote.
Medical doctor Dominque Musselman said in at attempt to subdue Estupinan he was given ketamine, fentanyl and midazolam introvenously. The drugs are typically used for sedation and pain management. The doctor said it worked, but that Estupinan became angry and threw himself around repeatedly as doctor's tried to wean him from the sedation.
The report also says that because of abnormal heart activity, high blood pressure and paranoia, Estupinan had been taking three powerful drugs generally used to for mental lapses. Valproate is used to stop seizures. Sebroquel manages hallucinations and risperidone is used to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and general regulates mood swings and behavior.
Horenstein said in the two weeks since he was hospitalized and charged, Estupinan hasn't spoken to anyone or been before a judge. The attorney said the hospital called his client's father Wednesday to inform him that they were about to perform a tracheotomy on his son.
'The system is broken and civil rights are illusory if this is how a defendant can be treated while in police custody in this country,' said Horenstein. 'It's terrifying that this can happen in America in 2025.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
a day ago
- Newsweek
Saudi Arabia's 'Sleeping Prince' Dies After 20 Years In Coma
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Saudi royal, known as the "Sleeping Prince," has died after spending two decades in a coma following a car accident, the country's royal family has said. The Saudi royal court said on Saturday said Prince Alwaleed bin Khalid bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud had died, but did not offer any further detail. The funeral prayer would be held on Sunday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, according to a statement carried by the country's SPA news agency. The prince had been in a coma since he was involved in a car accident in London in 2005, where he had been attending military college as a teenager. Who Was Alwaleed bin Khalid bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud? The prince was the son of Prince Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, and a nephew of Saudi billionaire, Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, and Princess Rima bin Talal. Prince Khaled said in a post to social media on Saturday his son had "passed away to Allah's mercy today." The skyline of Riyadh is seen on October 31, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The skyline of Riyadh is seen on October 31, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi would take place on Sunday, and funeral services for the prince will last three days from then, regional media reported. The prince was studying in the U.K. when he was involved in a road collision aged 15, leading to a brain hemorrhage. He then spent roughly 20 years under "close medical supervision" without regaining consciousness, according to English-language Saudi newspaper, the Saudi Gazette. The prince had "brief episodes of limited movement" over the years, the newspaper reported. What People Are Saying The Global Imams Council, an Iraq-based religious NGO, said on Saturday it offered its "sincere condolences" to the Saudi Royal Family. "As we share the grief of the Royal Family on this solemn occasion, we recall with deep respect the patience and steadfastness demonstrated by his father, Prince Khaled bin Talal, and his family," the organization said. "We pray the Almighty Allah envelops the late Prince with His vast mercy, grants him a place in His eternal Paradise, and bestows patience and solace upon his family and loved ones," the GIC said. Prince Alwaleed's father, Prince Khaled, said in a statement posted to social media: "With hearts full of faith in Allah's decree and destiny, and with profound sadness and sorrow, we mourn our beloved son Prince Alwaleed bin Khalid bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, may Allah have mercy on him, who passed away to Allah's mercy today."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Football disorder on the rise as police struggle to find resources to crush trouble
The 1970s were dark days for the rise of football hooliganism. And it was not just the big clubs who produced "firms". It was an "English disease" which was as likely to erupt in the lower leagues as in the streets around the country's famous stadiums. A famous picture was taken at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane ground, in which a fan was being escorted around the side of the pitch and out of the ground by police. Buried in the side of his head was a Kung Fu star. In February 1978 another 'iconic' image was taken - a Manchester United fan at a game against Liverpool being helped by police and a St John Ambulance man with a dart embedded in his face, dangerously close to his eye. READ MORE: 'It's like two worlds, everyone notices it' READ MORE: 'I asked Stockport locals what they'd change about town - the answer was unanimous' The loss of 96 lives at Hillsborough in 1989 rightly warranted a seismic shift in the way we watch the game. The Taylor Report published in its wake resulted in all seat stadia. This diminished the opportunities for violence between fans and crucially increased safety. But disturbing new figures show an 18 percent increase in reported disorder at football matches across England and Wales last season with 1,583 in 2024/25 compared to 1,341 in 2023/24. This included football-related violence, disorder, anti-social behaviour and harm. It means at least one incident was reported at more than half of the 3,090 matches played last season from the Premier League down to the National League and games in FA Cup, League Cup, Football League Trophy, Champions League, Europa League, Conference League and international fixtures. The number of arrests, however, dropped by 11 percent from 2,167 to 1,932 - a first decrease since fans returned to the stadiums after the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Police Chiefs' Council said the "worrying level of offending at men's football matches across the country" is putting an increased strain on the police. Cheshire Chief Constable, Mark Roberts, its football policing lead, said the figures show "why it is essential that football clubs need to start paying their fair share towards policing matches." In April a group of football hooligans were jailed after scenes of chaos broke out at a game between Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic The 'pre-planned' violence erupted in Westhoughton after the match on August 19, 2023, in which Wigan beat Bolton 4-0. At least 50 people were caught up in the brawl, leaving one man in need of hospital treatment. Thirteen men were handed banning orders after the mass fight, with four getting jail sentences. In December police investigating a huge organised fight between rival hooligans in Salford have arrested ten 'high-risk' Manchester United supporters suspected of being involved in violence with Dutch supporters the day before the Reds took on FC Twente earlier this year. A fight between a reported 80 men erupted near a pub in Lower Broughton on the afternoon of September 25 but by the time Greater Manchester Police attended the supporters had fled and made their way into Manchester city centre. Pictures later appeared online of what appeared to be masked United hooligans who claimed their Dutch rival ended up running away, The Home Office figures reveal hate crime incidents increased by six percent and drugs in football stadiums by 25 percent. Police are investigating after an incident towards the end of York City's game with Salford City FC at York's LNER Stadium earlier this month in which racial abuse was directed at Salford players. The game was abandoned. Meanwhile, there have been decreases in the number of pitch encroachments, down 12 percent, and pyrotechnics offences, reduced by 19 percent as police have worked with the clubs to tackle the issues. Despite the increase in the number of football-related incidents, the number of arrests has fallen by 11 percent. The National Police Chief's Council says a contributing factor of the decrease is because many police forces have difficulties policing matches as they make hard choices with tightened finances. This is compounded by the inability to fairly recover policing costs. Despite the decrease in arrests, the number of Football Banning Orders (FBOs) has continued to increase (2,439 in June 2025, compared to 2,172 in August 2024). The majority of these FBOs are for violent offences such as missile throwing, assaults and public order offences. Chief Constable Roberts said: "These figures show that we are continuing to see a worrying level of offending at men's football matches across the country at all levels, which is leading to an increasing strain on policing resources and demonstrates why it is essential that football clubs need to start paying their fair share towards policing matches. "Policing men's football creates significantly more demand than any other event in terms of public order deployments nationally, meaning every week officers are taken away from policing communities to facilitate matches. Given the frequency of the games in the UK, it is a huge drain on our resources and means that we are essentially losing around 800 to 1,200 officers every year to policing football. "The cost to the public purse for policing football matches is extortionate, with taxpayers now providing £70m of the policing each season - which cannot continue. "As things stand, football clubs are only required to cover the costs incurred inside their ground or in their property - they do not have to pay a penny towards the policing of surrounding streets, city centres, or towards the increasing marches to stadiums by fans. On top of this, 48 percent of games across all leagues incur no charges for policing, with 95 percent of the National League being police-free so to suggest fair cost recovery would put small clubs out of business is wide of the mark. "In a nutshell, this means that we as the police are subsidising clubs that quite happily spend up to £1b in a single transfer window. That is why I am continuing to call for the government to speed up the ongoing consultation process into the current legislation." He added: "The reporting of online hate crime has reduced this year. This is down to us working with social media companies to ensure that action can be taken against those responsible. They have speeded up their processes and many use filters to greater effect, thereby preventing offensive posts being published. "Further work needs to be done. We know that online abuse is still widely underreported, and we would encourage anyone affected by these despicable crimes to report them. "Collectively we need to make football a safer space for the overwhelming majority of fans who want to enjoy the game. Anyone who commits a criminal offence outside or inside the ground can expect to face the consequences of their actions."
Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Chicago Tribune
Chicago-area children get deportation letters: Leave or ‘the federal government will find you'
Thirteen-year-old Xally Morales stared blankly at a letter she received from the Department of Homeland Security last month. She could not read the dozens of lines in English addressed to her. She arrived in the country from Mexico a little over seven months ago, crossing the southern border in search of safety. Xally knows very little English. 'They say I have to leave the country immediately,' the young teen whispered in Spanish, barely meeting anyone's eyes at a Chicago law firm on a recent Friday afternoon. No explanation. No hearing. And no time. The night she received the letter, she said, the family went into hiding after her older sister translated the letter for her. 'Trump wants me to go back to Mexico. But how can I do that alone?' Xally told the Tribune. 'I'm scared ICE will come for me.' Xally is one of at least 12 children in the Waukegan area — all unaccompanied minors from Mexico — who received sudden deportation letters from DHS last month, according to advocates. All of the girls legally entered the country within the past year under humanitarian parole as unaccompanied minors and were later reunited with undocumented parents or other family already living in the U.S. But despite that reunification, the girls are unable to be legally represented by their parents in immigration court due to the way they entered the country. Immigration advocates warn that these cases are becoming more common, with a growing number of children now receiving letters from DHS ending their humanitarian parole. They say this could signal a troubling shift under the Trump administration: a move to strip asylum protections from children, even those with pending claims, and accelerate the deportation of minors without due process. 'Do not attempt to unlawfully remain in the United States — the Federal Government will find you,' the June 20 letter reads. Unless their families can find and afford scarce legal representation, the children could be at risk of getting detained or could be forced to face a judge alone, advocates and attorneys said. But an assistant secretary of DHS, Tricia McLaughlin, in an emailed statement to the Tribune said that 'accusations that ICE is 'targeting' children are FALSE and an attempt to demonize law enforcement.' McLaughlin added that Immigration and Customs Enforcement 'does not 'target' children nor does it deport children.' The agency also does not separate families, she said in the statement. Instead, 'ICE asks mothers if they want to be removed with their children or if the child should be placed with someone safe whom the parent designates.' But questions regarding why letters are being sent to unaccompanied minors, like Xally, and what the protocol is to deport them, as stated in the letter, were left unanswered. Sitting next to her mother in the law office that afternoon, she held her hand tight. Since receiving the letter, the two had been staying at a Waukegan church because they were afraid that ICE agents would suddenly show up to their home and take Xally. Her mother, Francisca Petra Guzman, 48, arrived in the country in January, also as an asylum-seeker. The two, she said, ran away from domestic abuse and death threats. But churches are no longer a safe refuge. Instead, the pastor of the church, longtime activist Julie Contreras, escorted the mother and daughter to meet with a group of attorneys who could help them understand their options: return to the country they fled, possibly together to avoid detention, or remain in the U.S. for safety. 'As much as I tried, I couldn't provide for Xally in Mexico. I couldn't keep her safe,' Guzman said. 'Then my health started to decline. We had no other option than to come here.' Shortly after President Donald Trump took office, DHS began widely sending these letters. While the agency has always had the discretion to revoke any type of parole, the practice has expanded significantly under his administration, according to the legal and immigration experts. Minors, however, had not been targeted until now. Still, the letter may not mean that ICE will in fact show up to the family's home or their school to deport the children, said immigration attorney John Antia. Many of these children may qualify for other forms of legal protection, Antia said. The first step is meeting with an experienced immigration lawyer. That's something, however, that's often out of reach for families due to financial hardship or lack of understanding about their rights. 'Whether ICE can lawfully detain these children largely depends on each child's immigration status and individual circumstances,' Antia said. When he learned that Xally and other children were taking sanctuary at a Waukegan church after getting the letters, he offered to meet with them, attempting to ease their anxiety and fear. 'The reality is that under this administration, no one is safe anywhere. They (immigration authorities) are unpredictable and desperate to meet a quota even if it means detaining a child,' Antia said. 'This administration doesn't care whether you are in the hospital, whether you are in the courthouse, whether you are in your home, definitely not at church.' While Xally and her mother didn't leave the law office with clear answers about their future, they said they felt a small sense of hope. The attorneys said they would explore legal options to help Xally stay in the country, or at the very least, protect her from detention. They returned to the church, packed their bags and went home. The fear, however, lingers more than ever. Every morning, Xally wakes up wondering if agents will show up at her door the way they have been showing up to other homes in Waukegan and other cities near Chicago. The girl and her mother avoid going out altogether, spending most days watching TV, doing her nails, writing or reading. 'When I begin to feel anxious, I pray,' Xally said as she scrolled though a photo of her late father on her cellphone background. Her nails are painted in bright pink polish and glitter. She painted them while she was staying at the church with other children who received similar letters from DHS. She said she is used to living in fear since she lived in Mexico. Only briefly after arriving did she think her life would take a turn for the best. Xally still remembers the day she first saw Lake Michigan after arriving in the Chicago area. It was Sept. 19 of last year. Before that, she had spent nearly a month in a Texas federal facility run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, surrounded by other children who, like her, had crossed the southern border seeking asylum. 'More than scared, I was nervous and excited,' Xally said. She was eager to leave behind a life marked by pain and instability after her father died from COVID over five years ago. When her mother remarried, they found themselves trapped in an abusive household, her mother recalled. As the threats heightened, her mother desperately searched for a way to protect her youngest daughter. At first, she left Xally with her elderly grandmother in their impoverished Mexican hometown. But soon, Guzman realized her best option was to send Xally to the United States, where her older sisters — both U.S.-born — lived. Guzman herself had lived in the U.S. unauthorized as a teenager. It was where she met Xally's father. The couple decided to return to Mexico when Xally's grandfather was on his deathbed and they wanted to see one last time. Shortly after, Xally was born. With the help of Contreras, founder of United Giving Hope, an organization supporting immigrant families in suburban Illinois, Xally was granted humanitarian parole as an unaccompanied minor and successfully reunited with her older sisters in Waukegan. 'It was a new start for a young girl with big dreams,' Contreras said. 'She arrived at a place of safety every child deserves.' Over the past decade, Contreras has helped hundreds of children and mothers legally cross the southern border seeking asylum, assisting with paperwork and connecting them to attorneys to support their cases. But now, about a dozen of those children, including Xally, have received letters from DHS ordering them to leave the country. 'This is deeply concerning and alarming,' Contreras said. 'These children are not the criminals Trump claimed ICE would target. They are victims of human rights violations and are being terrorized. Even if ICE doesn't come for them immediately, the threat alone causes severe psychological trauma.' While Xally and her mother choose to endure the uncertainty, others cannot bear it and have opted to return to their native towns. Even when it means facing danger, Contreras said. Sixteen-year-old Daneli Mendez, who arrived in the Chicago area last October, decided to go back to her native Veracruz, Mexico. After staying at the church with Contreras for nearly a week, terrified that ICE would arrive and arrest her, Daneli told her family she would rather return voluntarily than risk detention. The girl has heard of others being detained in detention centers in poor conditions for undetermined amounts of time. Most recently, a 15-year-old Mexican boy was reportedly arrested by federal authorities and taken to Alligator Alcatraz, a notorious detention facility in Florida. On July 5, just a day after Independence Day, Contreras escorted Daneli to O'Hare International Airport and watched as the young girl boarded a flight back to the country she once fled. 'It's heartbreaking to see their dreams shattered. But this is about more than dreams, it's about their safety,' Contreras said. Daneli returned with nothing but a small backpack, a few English words she had learned, and a broken heart, leaving her family behind once again. 'She would much rather do that than be detained and deported,' Contreras said. Under U.S. immigration law, unaccompanied minors, children under 18 who arrive at the border without a parent or legal guardian, are supposed to receive special protections. They are typically placed under the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and granted humanitarian parole while their cases are processed. But in recent months, immigration advocates and attorneys say the system is being quietly dismantled. 'We're seeing more and more unaccompanied minors having their parole revoked and being thrown into immigration proceedings where they're completely unequipped to defend themselves,' said Davina Casa, pastor and leader of the Monarchy Organization. The group provides legal guidance and other services for immigrants in Illinois. Its main goal is to reunify families. Casas and Contreras have worked closely together to help Xally and other children arrive safely in the United States. What's more concerning, she said, is that in March, the Trump administration cut federal funding for legal representation for unaccompanied minors. Only after 11 immigrant groups sued, saying that 26,000 children were at risk of losing their attorneys, did a court order temporarily restore the funding, but the case is still ongoing. Those groups argued that the government has an obligation under a 2008 anti-trafficking law to provide vulnerable children with legal counsel. That same law requires safe repatriation of the children. But Casas is skeptical of that. Even if the funding has been restored, the demand can't keep up. In April, more than 8,300 children ages 11 and under were ordered deported by immigration courts. That is the highest number for that age group in any month since tracking began over 35 years ago, according to court data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, as first reported by The Independent. Since Trump took office in January, judges have ordered the removal of over 53,000 immigrant children, according to the data collected. Most of those children are elementary school age or younger. Approximately 15,000 were under the age of 4, and another 20,000 were between 4 and 11 years old. Teenagers have also been affected, with 17,000 ordered deported, though that number is still below the peak seen in 2020, during Trump's first term. Some of the children are unaccompanied minors, like Xally and Daneli, but it's unclear how many, since immigration authorities stopped tracking that data years ago. In the Chicago area, it's hard to know how many children are currently being detained or deported, due to gaps in the available data. But according to data obtained by the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the Tribune, at least 16 minors were deported or left the U.S. after being booked in Chicago-area ICE detention centers during Trump's first 150 days back in office. Another seven cases are still pending. If all seven of those cases result in deportation, that would bring the total to 23 minors — about the same number as were deported in the final 150 days of the Biden administration. But the latest available ICE data doesn't capture any efforts since late June. When Xally learned that Daneli had returned home, she panicked. The two girls had spent a few nights at the church, confiding in each other the fear that few other young girls would understand. 'Would I have to do that too?' she asked herself. 'I don't want to. I like school here, I want to go back after summer break.' Xally is enrolled at Robert Abbott Middle School in Waukegan, where she would enter eighth grade if she stays in the country. Meanwhile, her summer has been shadowed by fear and uncertainty. Just days after receiving the letter, her family quietly marked her 13th birthday — no guests, no music, no gifts. She can't even go anymore to the beach, a place that once felt like the freedom and safety she and her mother had desperately sought after being released from federal custody.
