NORTHEAST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida mother is sharing her story one day after, she said, a man in the car that struck her vehicle in Northeast Miami-Dade physically attacked her before fleeing the scene, all while two children were sitting inside her car.
Speaking with 7News on Saturday, Barbara Dorado said her nerves are still frayed over the frightening turn of events earlier that day.
“I feel really unsafe,” she said.
Dorado managed to take a picture of the suspect as he approached her, and police have confirmed the picture is the man they are looking for.
She said it all started when her Chrysler was sideswiped while driving down Ives Dairy Road and had stopped at the red light on the intersection at Northeast 20th Avenue.
“There’s a car that came from behind, and I guess he tried to get into my lane, and he hit my car,” she said.
Dorado said a man in the car that hit her got out, and he tried to block her view of the license plate.
“The passenger went back, opened the trunk, and it was a paper tag, so he was folding the tag so I wouldn’t see the number,” she said.
Dorado said she still tried to snap a picture of the plate.
“When he saw me with my phone, he went at me, trying to grab my phone,” she said. “I put it around my back, and that’s when he punched me.”
Michael Deso, who had also stopped at that red light, said he witnessed the attack.
“He totally pushed her down, like super hard on the concrete, right in front of my car,” he said.
Deso said this was no light tap.
“This man straight up, just came behind her and went, ‘boom,’ like running full speed, like pushed her to get her to fall,” he said. “It was almost a tackle.”
From his driver’s seat, Deso said he shouted at the man. The witness said the subject, who was carrying a Hennessy bottle, then threw it at him.
“He’s maybe this close to me … 10 feet, with a Hennessy bottle, just straight baseball pitching it right at my face,” he said.
Fortunately, Deso said, the assailant missed his mark.
Seconds later, the aggressor got back into the car, and the driver sped off.
They left behind a deep dent in Deso’s front driver’s side door and a mother shaken to her core. Sitting in her car, she said, were two minors, including her own child.
“I was really scared, because I was with my kid in the vehicle, and I would have never thought someone would just hit a person like that,” said Dorado.
If you have any information on this hit-and-run or the identity of the suspect involved, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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