SOUTH MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A car was left mangled following a rollover wreck in South Miami-Dade that left a pedestrian dead and sent the driver to the hospital.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a black Cadillac sedan collided with a pedestrian along U.S. 1., near Southwest 271st Street., at around 3 a.m., Sunday.
“Be advised, a rolled over vehicle,” a dispatcher said in radio transmissions.
Surveillance video captured the moment the vehicle struck the man, tossing him into the air.
Investigators said the impact caused the Cadillac to flip over and crash into the side of a strip mall building, leaving the car destroyed.
The pedestrian died at the scene. Authorities identified the victim as a Latino man in his 40s.
“Crazy, I just couldn’t believe that it happened right here,” said Thomas Rhymestine who captured the crash on surveillance video. “This car was speeding at a very high rate and just unbelievable.”
First responders cut out the driver from the car using the Jaws of Life, which was propped up against the building.
“Advise, going to need assistance to shut down U.S. 1,” a first responder said in radio transmissions.
Once the driver was extricated from the Cadillac, Miami Dade Fire Rescue airlifted the patient to Jackson South Medical Center as a trauma alert.
The patient’s condition is stable; however, the extent of their injuries remains unknown.
“Where the initial hit of the pedestrian was to where the person ended up, and to where the car ended up, that’s a good what, 400 feet?” Rhymestine said. “The speed of which that car was travelling was very excessive.”
Rhymestine, who owns Play It Again Video Games, said he believed that the person who was hit was homeless.
“There’s a small homeless encampment behind the mall here and there’s, I don’t know, half a dozen people living back there, and they’re constantly crossing back and forth right here on U.S 1, right where that happened,” he said. “That’s my assumption because I did see him walking through the parking lot from that area.”
U.S. 1 was shut down for most of the early morning while officials conducted a preliminary investigation. They spent hours at the scene collecting evidence, as they pieced together what led to the deadly crash.
According to a 7News source, it did not appear that the driver was under the influence at the time of the crash.
It is unknown if the driver will face any charges.
The 7News source is also asking the public to contact the Florida Highway Patrol at 305-470-2500 if the description of the deceased matches a missing loved one.
Authorities, including the Traffic Homicide Unit, continue to investigate.
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