NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE (WSVN) — Two Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies have been placed on restricted administrative assignment after the department began an investigation into a fatal crash.
The investigation by BSO Internal Affairs hopes to determine whether a police pursuit caused the multi-car crash.
On Tuesday, witnesses who saw the crash occur told 7News they believed law enforcement officials were chasing one of the cars involved.
“We really couldn’t tell, there was no sirens, no nothing. The black and white car was speeding. We know that’s an undercover car, we just know,” said Trumane Simpson.
The crash occurred on Sunday afternoon when, BSO said, a Tesla that 19-year-old Gavin Dorvil was driving was speeding westbound on Northwest Sixth Street when it crashed into a Dodge Durango at the intersection of Northwest 27th Avenue.
Both cars crashed into a nearby cemetery as a result of the crash.
The front side of the Tesla was destroyed, and the windshield was blown out. The Durango sustained considerable side damage. The third vehicle, believed to be the unmarked police vehicle by witnesses, was seen flipped upside down on its roof in the middle of the street.
“The Tesla ran the red light and ran the red, hit the Durango,” said Simpson.
Simpson and his friend Tony Cole rushed to the crash scene to try to help.
“Tony cut the seat belt. That’s when we realized there was another person in the back seat. It was terrible,” said Simpson.
Dorvil was transported to the hospital. He was arrested and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide on Tuesday night.
He already faces a grand theft with a firearm charge after being arrested last month in Davie.
The two people inside the Durango, Lisa Jackson and Geraldine Francis, were killed. A third person, a juvenile female, was rushed to the hospital.
The crash ended in tragedy, and for the people who witnessed it, it’ll be very hard to forget.
“The lady I was praying with, I see her now, not even in my sleep, just daytime,” said Simpson.
“The white car was speeding, so when we see one car, we know it’s an undercover car, we just know,” said Simpson. “No sirens, no lights. Come on, man.”
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