CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) — Eight years after losing his mother in a deadly crash, a Cape Coral son finally has justice.
Angela Tresenriter was killed in a crash on Summerlin Road in Fort Myers in 2017. The driver, Pavel Naranjo Jr., was found unfit to stand trial because of injuries he suffered in that same crash.
Eight years later, Tresenriter’s son, Trysten Thresher, ran into Naranjo Jr. at a gas station and decided to take action.
“That kind of was just a huge shock to me because I was like, ‘oh my God, this guy’s recovered from his injuries. He’s doing well. He’s riding around on his bike and he’s plenty competent now at this point to stand trial,” Thresher said.
Thresher says after seeing that Naranjo Jr. appeared healed and doing well, he contacted authorities. Naranjo Jr. was then arrested and found competent to stand trial.
The trial took place this past week. Thresher says he took the stand to testify about his encounter with Naranjo Jr. The jury took just 20 minutes to convict him of DUI manslaughter.
“I can’t bring my mom back, but at the end of the day, what I can do is advocate for people and say, ‘Hey, look, don’t drink and drive. Get an Uber. It’s a lot cheaper than taking somebody’s life,'” Thresher said.
Naranjo Jr.’s sentencing is scheduled for Monday at 8:30 a.m.