Man in crash died from a puncture wound to the heart

The autopsy on the man who was killed following a fatal vehicle collision over two weeks ago has concluded that Raju Bhai died from a puncture wound to the heart as a result of the accident.

During a preliminary hearing for Eduardo Fabia, Department of Public Safety’s Lt. Norris Kwon, who served as the lead investigator in the case, shared the results of the autopsy done by Dr. Philip Dauterman.

Kwon, who said he was present while the autopsy was being performed, said that Dauterman showed him and others present the part of the heart of the deceased that had a laceration.

Kwon also saw a large laceration on Bhai’s forehead, a fractured right arm, and a fractured left leg.

Dauterman later found that the puncture wound to the heart also caused major internal bleeding and the loss of blood is ultimately what caused Bhai’s death.

Kwon said Dauterman explained that the blunt force trauma to Bhai’s chest as a result of the crash crushed Bhai’s chest, fracturing his ribs and it was a fractured rib that punctured his heart.

In the autopsy report, Dauterman determined that blunt force trauma to the chest from the motor vehicle accident caused Bhai’s death.

Following the hearing, Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth Govendo found probable cause to try Fabia in court for four of five charges, including homicide by vehicle.

Fabia was present during the preliminary hearing, in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

Earlier this month, the Superior Court allowed Fabia’s release after he posted 1% of his initial bail, which was $100,000.

During Fabia’s bail hearing, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho granted his request to appoint his wife as his third-party custodian.

Camacho allowed DOC to release Fabia to his wife after she posted a $1,000 cash bail.

Fabia’s original bail amount was set at $100,000. He had asked the court to lower that amount to $10,000 and allow him to post 10% of that, which is just $1,000. Camacho denied reducing Fabia’s bail to $10,000 because of the severity of the case and because he is a flight risk but still allowed him to post a $1,000 bail, but kept the original bail at $100,00 and hold the $99,000 in abeyance.

Fabia was arrested last Feb. 5 for allegedly running a red traffic light at the Puerto Rico intersection while operation a garbage truck owned by Artman Environment Corp.