PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - A man and a 3-year-old child have died in a fiery crash in Plantation.
The crash happened near Northwest Third Street and University Drive, at around 3:30 a.m., Thursday. Fire crews responded to the scene and quickly put out the flames.
Part of the car, a Mercedes-Benz sedan, could be seen covered with a yellow tarp. The car was so badly damaged that it was almost unrecognizable. Just in front of the Mercedes-Benz was another yellow tarp on the road.
“I’m really sad about it. I actually, like, wanna cry right now,” witness Frances Velasco said. “Around 3:40 a.m., I woke up to a crash zone, which sounded like a boom and a splash. I didn’t really get up to look to see what it was until I heard a woman screaming. I heard the woman screaming again, ‘My baby! My baby!'”
Authorities have identified the driver as 26-year-old Ryan Yates and the 3-year-old as James Oizan-Chapon. According to family, Yates was the boyfriend of the little boy’s mother, who got out of the car after some kind of disagreement.
That’s when Yates apparently took off with James in the car.
Police said Yates lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree before the vehicle burst into flames.
“Everything just happened within a matter of two minutes, I believe,” Velasco said. “It was just scary and shocking to me to see something like that and to hear something like that. I wasn’t ready to see that.”
“It’s very sad to have the situation the way it happened, it’s horrible,” neighbor Alexander Sleem said.
Part of University Drive was shut down into Thursday night, and drivers were detoured around the crash site. University Drive has since reopened.
The cause of the crash has not been revealed, but it appears speed may have been a factor.
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