Judge in the Maradona case crashed her car and blamed journalists: 'I'm overwhelmed!'

Julieta Makintach, a judge involved in the trial over Diego Maradona's death, made headlines again due to an accident she caused with her car. While trying to avoid the press, she forgot to engage the handbrake and her vehicle crashed into a trash bin. "I'm overwhelmed!" she shouted in the middle of the scene.

The magistrate, recently suspended for 90 days for her participation in the documentary "Justicia Divina",  faced a new episode of tension. Everything happened when a reporter from A la tarde (América) approached her white Ford EcoSport to ask her questions. Makintach, visibly upset, asked for time, claiming that her 10-year-old son was about to arrive: "Please, wait, for God's sake," she pleaded.

Amid that chaos, she got out of the car without applying the handbrake. The vehicle began to move on its own and ended up hitting a nearby trash can. From the scene, the reporter and the cameraman tried to warn her: "Watch out for the door!" but the judge only managed to reply: "I can't, I'm overwhelmed!"

On Wednesday's broadcast of A la tarde, the panel journalists analyzed that a neighbor's car near the judge may also have suffered the consequences of the oversight.

Blame, shouting, and complaints

After the incident, far from taking responsibility, Makintach accused the journalists of causing the accident.  According to her statement, they should pay for the car repairs: "You're going to pay for this. I ask you for humility,"  she demanded in the middle of the public street.

The episode only added more tension to an already delicate institutional situation. The judge already had three previous requests for impeachment, and the scandal over her appearance in a documentary about an ongoing judicial case ultimately removed her from the oral debate.

The Maradona case and the banned documentary

Makintach had been removed from the Oral Criminal Court No. 2 of San Isidro for having given statements for a documentary about the trial over Diego Maradona's death, something expressly prohibited by law. According to her defense, she only gave an intimate interview to a childhood friend: "It was a Sunday at 5 in the afternoon. Does that make it illegal?"

Despite her defense, the prosecution presented compelling evidence. Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari  stated: "This was a reality show. Makintach acted as an actress, not as a judge." The recorded content showed the magistrate expressing opinions about the process before evidence began to be presented, something considered a direct violation of her impartiality.

Faced with pressure from all parties, Makintach agreed to step aside.  In her final words, she tried to distance herself from the audiovisual project: "I don't know who the others were. My friend came with this idea, but I was unaware of the material. I'm as surprised as you are."

Finally, the Oral Criminal Court No. 3 decided to officially exclude her from the trial investigating the alleged simple homicide with eventual intent of the Argentine soccer star. Thus, her reputation was doubly marked: for her actions off the bench and for an accident that, ironically, ended up blaming those who were seeking answers.