FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A man accused of driving drunk crashed into a car that was about to be towed along Interstate 95, killing one person in the process.
Bradley Evan Ruben’s mug shot shows him bandaged, bloodied and bruised. 7News cameras the 32-year-old as he was taken inside the Broward County Jail, Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Ruben caused a deadly crash at around 1 a.m. on Wednesday along the northbound lanes of I-95, just north of Oakland Park Boulevard.
Investigators said tow truck driver Robby Sternberg was ready to tow a car when Ruben crashed into the car that was about to be towed.
“I thought I was dead,” said Sternberg. “I’m just lucky I’m alive right now, talking to you right now.”
Police identified the victim as Juan Pedro Garcia, who was out helping his wife after she was involved in a minor wreck.
Officials said the husband was standing on the shoulder of the highway prior to being struck.
“This accident caused the vehicle to rotate. Mr. Juan Pedro Garcia was seriously hurt,” said FHP Lt. Alvaro Feola.
Sternberg said he knows how lucky he is. “My eyes were closed, I heard the impact, and all I could think about was my daughter,” Sternberg said.
Garcia later died at the hospital.
Sternberg described the moments leading up to the crash.
“I came to load up a lady’s vehicle, and as I was loading up, I got out of the vehicle to tie her car down, and all of a sudden, I see a vehicle come straight at me,” he said. “It pushed me to the side of the highway.”
Ruben tried to flee the scene on foot but troopers caught him not far away shortly after. He was wearing a mask on his face when he was brought back to the scene.
FHP troopers believe he was drinking before he got behind the wheel.
Ruben has been charged with failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving death, as well as resisting an officer or obstruction without violence.
He is being held at the Broward County Jail and will likely go before a judge on Thursday.
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