Taxi driver ran over a trans woman and left her to die: they demand an investigation into what happened

Fiomara Wiegueth was 22 years old when she was run over in Asunción by a taxi driver who fled the scene. He was charged with manslaughter.

67193263_2260434607343089_909415700945174528_n

July 23, 2019

By Juliana Quintana, from Asunción. Fiomara Wiegueth was a 22-year-old trans woman. On Saturday night, a taxi driver ran her over on Fernando de la Mora Avenue, near the Asunción Bus Terminal, and left her to die. In that area, many trans people, excluded from education and the job market, survive by engaging in sex work, like Fiomara. The prosecutor in the case, Patricia Calabrese, told Presentes that the taxi driver was charged with manslaughter and failure to render aid. According to an eyewitness—whose identity was not released by the prosecutor's office because it could compromise the investigation—after running over the young woman, the taxi driver got out of the vehicle, saw the victim on the ground, still alive, and fled. This person was the one who called the ambulance and the police. “The eyewitness says he saw from his window that the taxi driver ran her over, got out of the vehicle, looked around, and left. He was given a breathalyzer test, which determined he was not intoxicated,” stated Prosecutor Calabrese. While a team of healthcare workers was attempting to resuscitate Fiomara, one of the paramedics from the Emergency Medical Services (SEME) got out of the ambulance—presumably to retrieve some supplies—and was struck by a motorcyclist traveling at high speed. The man driving the motorcycle and the woman riding with him ended up inside the emergency vehicle. The paramedic who arrived to assist Fiomara ultimately survived. When they learned what had happened, Fiomara's parents, Eusebio Martínez and Ninfa Eva Servián, traveled from Coronel Oviedo (150 km from Asunción) and faced a series of bureaucratic obstacles before they were allowed to retrieve their daughter's body. “That day, we arrived in Asunción around one in the afternoon, and the body arrived around six; we didn't even have time to file a report. At the District Attorney's Office Number 1, they denied us everything because we didn't have her birth certificate. Even though we had brought a copy of her identity card, they didn't want to release the body to us,” Eusebio stated. “That day, Fiomara's body was released to the relatives who came from the city of Coronel Oviedo to identify her. A request has also been made to review the security camera footage from the area,” said Prosecutor Calabrese. “We want to know what happened to Fiomara.” As soon as she learned what had happened, trans activist Yren Rotela launched a social media fundraising campaign to finance Fiomara’s funeral and transport to Coronel Oviedo. Yren was also the one who contacted her parents and gave them the money raised at Casa Diversa, where they held a small memorial service and farewell. “We are covering all the funeral and burial expenses, but no one has contacted us. They still haven’t explained what happened there,” said Eusebio. The family hadn’t heard from their daughter for six months. The last time they had been in contact, she said she wanted to take a trip to São Paulo, Brazil. The parents stated that, “after nine months of mourning,” they will return to Asunción to complete the necessary paperwork related to the investigation. “This is a clear example of the criminalization, discrimination, and stigma faced by trans people. We want the Prosecutor's Office to take action; we want justice. We want to know what happened to Fiomara,” Yren concluded.

We are Present

We are committed to a type of journalism that delves deeply into the realm of the world and offers in-depth research, combined with new technologies and narrative formats. We want the protagonists, their stories, and their struggles to be present.