MIAMI (WSVN) - Loved ones are speaking out one day after four people were killed when, officials said, a drunk driver struck pedestrians who had stopped to assist an injured motorcyclist on Interstate 95.
According to City of Miami Police, it all started when several motorcyclists were heading north on the highway, early Friday morning. One of them crashed in the rain near the Northwest 62nd Street exit.
Officials said Good Samaritans stopped to help the victim shortly after.
“Moments later, we hear over the radio that a Miami Police traffic homicide officer was traveling northbound and came upon several people that had serious injuries as a result of being struck by multiple vehicles,” said Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll.
Four people lost their lives and nine others sustained injuries. Paramedics transported the surviving victims to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where they continue to recover.
Traffic homicide detectives said 42-year-old Lionel Orrego was intoxicated when he was driving the white van that plowed through the pedestrians. He was charged with four counts of DUI manslaughter.
Family and friends of the victims said they are heartbroken.
“It hurts, you know. My heart felt something, because I was with one of them yesterday, early morning,” said Primo, a motorcyclist who visited the victims at the hospital on Friday. “It hurts, you know, to think that was the last time.”
One of the deceased victims was identified as 25-year-old John Garzon. On Saturday, a friend of the family spoke to 7News.
“He was a good and nice person,” she said. “He was really talented, and he was a nurse. He was a very compassionate person.”
The bikers were just enjoying their weekly night ride, according to a friend.
“Hopefully everybody needs to pay attention. We deal with a lot of bad driving and crazy people,” said Primo. “I guess it’s the life we live.”
As for Orrego, the victims’ loved ones said they’re certain the crash will haunt him for the rest of his days.
“I’m feeling really bad for him, because maybe now he’s not conscious of what he did, but later on he will feel it,” said the friend of Garzon’s family.
Orrego has since bonded out of jail. If convicted, he could spend several years behind bars.
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