Charges filed against driver who killed cousins in Lemon Grove

East County News Service

October 30, 2025 (Lemon Grove) – The hopes and dreams of Nadia Charles, 19, and Junior Joseph Juste, 20, cousins who came to America from Haiti seeking a better life, were snuffed out on New Year’s morning when two vehicles collided in Lemon Grove. The crash pushed one of the vehicles into the two cousins, who were pedestrians crossing the street at Buena Vista and Broadway.

Now, 10 months later, charges have been filed against Victor Zuniga, 20. Authorities allege that he was on his phone at the time of the crash. He is charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, as well as reckless driving that resulted in serious injury to another driver. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up eight years in prison.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Zuniga was ordered at his arraignment to surrender his driver’s license and will remain under house arrest.

Zuniga’s attorney, Peter Blair, said he had not seen any evidence that Zuniga was on his phone. At the arraignment, he told the court his client is an “upstanding young man” with no criminal history who had hoped to someday work in law enforcement or go to law school. Around two dozen people attended the arraignment to show support for Zuniga.

Charles and Juste had immigrated here from Haiti just last year, after surviving major earthquakes, poverty, violence and political instability in their homeland.  They were seeking asylum in the U.S., studying English,and hoped to attend school here.

They had planned to attend a church workshop led by San Diego Police to help new immigrants adapt to American culture on the Sunday after they were killed. Instead, a church service was held that Sunday at the First Haitian Baptist Church in City Heights to honor their memories.  A public memorial service was held days later at the intersection where they lost their lives.