NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Three people were killed and two others were rushed to the hospital following a collision on Interstate 95 in Northwest Miami-Dade, authorities said.
Florida Highway Patrol and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the two-vehicle crash near Northwest 95th Street, at around 4:30 a.m., Sunday.
According to FHP, a Nissan Altima and Dodge Challenger were traveling in the northbound lanes when the driver of the Altima lost control and collided with the Challenger.
Two good Samaritans, Augusto Vega and Priscilla Haisley, were on their way home from a New Year’s Eve concert when they spotted the car consumed by flames along northbound 95 near the 95th Street exit.
“It felt like an oven, every second it got worse,” Vega said.
“Nobody saw this lady there, and God just pulled me to her, and I’m glad that I helped,” Haisley said.
The couple did what they could to help the two women who were ejected and the three others who were trapped inside.
“I believe everything happens for a reason,” Haisley said.
“I kept telling her, ‘It’s going to be OK, just trust me, hold on to me,’” Vega said. “We all have that good in us. No matter what your night is like, what you’re going through, every human being, I believe, has that in them to help another.”
7News cameras captured one of the victims being loaded onto a stretcher.
Investigators said the Nissan drove off the roadway onto a grassy area on the right shoulder, where it crashed into a tree and burst into flames.
Troopers said three of the five people who were inside the Altima died inside the sedan, and they believe the two others were ejected.
Paramedics transported the surviving victims to Ryder Trauma Center, where they were last listed in critical condition.
Troopers shut down the northbound lanes of I-95 near 95th Street for five hours before they were reopened to traffic.
It was a tragic start to a new year, and a reminder of how precious life is.
Officials have not said if alcohol played a factor in this crash, and have not identified those who were inside the vehicle or the two women at the hospital.
The incident remains under investigation.
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