MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - A man and a woman were killed after, police said, the car they were riding in was struck by another outside of a shopping plaza in Miramar.
Miramar Police and Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the crash along the 7000 block of Pembroke Road, Saturday afternoon.
According to investigators, a red Ford Mustang was heading eastbound on Pembroke Road near 72nd Avenue when a white two-door hatchback turned left, possibly to enter the shopping plaza at 7050 Pembroke Road. The Mustang then struck the white car, causing the latter to swerve into the plaza.
“It looked like they were racing, ’cause the way it happened, it happened quick though,” said witness Ronald Beaujin. “You heard the cars slamming each other, and then the red one spun, and then you see the smoke.”
Police the hatchback stopped short of striking the wall of a business at the plaza. Skid marks show where the driver tried to stop before the impact.
Cellphone video captured the frantic moments when police officers and witnesses tried to pull open the white car’s passenger side door to get to the victims.
“I could see she was gone, but he wasn’t, because I could feel a pulse,” said a good Samaritan who asked not to be identified.
But neither victim would survive. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The good Samaritan said he did everything he could to render aid. “They gave me a crowbar. I tried to pry it open. It wouldn’t happen,” he said. “I bent the crowbar. I did everything. The man died in my hands. The man died looking at me, so right now I am taking it hard.”
The good Samaritan said he knew the victims from the neighborhood.
Ernie Heano, another area resident, said he worked with the male victim.
“My neighbor called me and told me the white car, you know, there’s not many white cars like that,” he said. “So he called me and says, ‘You know that little white car is in an accident,’ so I came over, and sure it was. It was him.”
Heano said the man has two children and an ex-wife.
“She can’t believe it, but I think it’s been like an hour, and she just called me back to affirm that it is real, so I just let her know that it is real, so she’s coming,” he said.
That woman came to the scene and left without saying a word.
Police temporarily shut down Pembroke Road eastbound while they investigated. Hours later, crews towed away both of the heavily damaged cars.
Investigators said the occupants of the Mustang were not seriously injured. Family members said anyone saying the cars were racing is mistaken.
Police have not disclosed names of those involved in the crash at this time, as they continue to investigate.
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