Some people you want to forget. Some you never will forget.
Guido Galla: “I was with Elizabeth for 17 years. She was my soul mate.”
Her family and her friends say, if you knew Elizabeth Sanchez, you loved her, even more so now that she is gone.
Miguel Sanchez: “I miss my sister. I just miss her, and my whole family’s been devastated.”
In June 2012, Elizabeth was with a friend on the Turnpike near Caribbean Boulevard when their car was in an accident.
Guido Galla: “And someone came onto the highway on Caribbean and the Turnpike and sideswiped their vehicle, causing their vehicle to spin out of control.”
Elizabeth survived that. She would not survive the next few seconds.
FHP Trooper Jose Sanchez: “The tow truck which was driving northbound in the center lane was not able to stop, and struck the vehicle on the side of the passenger, in this case Mrs. Sanchez, and she was deceased at the scene.”
What caused the car Elizabeth was in to spin out of control? Her friend, who was driving, said he heard a pop, thinking a tire blew — a witness said no — and they were sideswiped by a PT Cruiser.
Miguel Sanchez: “They saw him stop — they saw him press the brakes — and then he just took off again.”
The next day, a woman in the Keys said her PT Cruiser had been taken by a friend without her permission. When she woke up, she saw it had been in a crash.
She said her friend told her, “He saw a vehicle spinning on the roadway. He said someone hit him from behind. He said he didn’t know if anyone was injured/deceased from the collision because he left the scene due to having a suspended driver’s license.”
Troopers could not find the driver of the PT Cruiser to talk to him…
SunPass records showed the car was in the area when the accidents occurred. Investigators then confiscated the Cruiser and compared the paint on Elizabeth’s car to the Cruiser.
Trooper Jose Sanchez: “We sent it to the labs, and it came back negative. There wasn’t sufficient evidence to say that was the car in that accident.”
Was the witness correct, that the PT Cruiser that SunPass showed was in the area, in the accident that led to Elizabeth’s death? Or were the lab results correct, the car was not involved? With so many unanswered questions, the state attorney could not file charges against anyone.
Guido Galla: “How can you cause an accident where a life has been taken and just keep going?”
So many questions unanswered, but one fact is clear: A wonderful woman died that June night.
Miguel Sanchez: “This has been just devastating. Last year has just been a terrible year.”
What troopers need is some information. Maybe the person driving the car that hit Elizabeth told you something. Maybe you were on the Turnpike near Caribbean Boulevard around 10 p.m. on June 22, 2012 and saw something you may think is not important.
Guido Galla: “There’s been no arrest, and there’s really no closure in our family, because this person is still out there doing what they like to do, and our loved one is gone. My children won’t ever have their mother.”
If you know anything that happened that night, even if you don’t think it’s that important, give Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers a call at 305-471-TIPS. Elizabeth’s family will forever be grateful.
And if you have lost a loved one and want to remind people you are still out for justice, give us a call. With this Out for Justice, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
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Out For Justice
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