Castle Hill Avenue, the Bronx · November 16, 2024, about 12:49 a.m.
A 43-year-old Castle Hill man has been indicted on aggravated vehicular homicide and related charges after prosecutors say he ran a red light on Castle Hill Avenue while intoxicated, killing a 27-year-old woman and seriously injuring her boyfriend, an off-duty NYPD officer.
What prosecutors say happened
According to the Bronx District Attorney, Dimas Cuadrado was driving a 2011 Lincoln sedan north on Castle Hill Avenue at about 12:49 a.m. on November 16, 2024, when he allegedly sped through a red light and struck a 2017 Infiniti. The Infiniti's driver, Wilson Torres, 24, an off-duty NYPD officer, suffered a broken arm, broken ribs and a collapsed lung and needed a breathing tube. His girlfriend, Dorilys Ramos, 27, a passenger, was killed. Prosecutors say Mr. Cuadrado's Intoxilyzer reading was .128.
The charges
The indictment includes aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, first- and second-degree vehicular assault, second-degree assault, criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving, and two DWI counts. He pleaded not guilty before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Brenda Rivera, who set bail at $50,000 cash or a $350,000 bond.
What this case shows
Notice how many charges come from a single crash. Prosecutors typically charge every theory that fits: intoxication-based counts (vehicular homicide and manslaughter), recklessness-based counts (manslaughter), and a negligence-based count (criminally negligent homicide). Each has different elements, and a defense that defeats one theory may leave others standing. That is why the first job of a Bronx DWI attorney in a crash case is to map every count against the evidence, starting with the Intoxilyzer: when the test was given, whether the observation period and machine records hold up, and whether a .128 reflects the level at the time of driving.
Where the case stands
We found no public report of a plea or verdict as of September 2026. Mr. Cuadrado has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent.
Related: felony DWI · aggravated DWI
This article is drawn from public court filings, official releases and news reports, and is provided for general information only. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt. Every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. Nothing here predicts the outcome of any other case, and nothing here is legal advice.