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Colleagues Honor Opa-Locka Commissioner Killed In Head-On Crash

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OPA-LOCKA (CBSMiami) – Opa-locka Commissioner Terence Pinder was set to turn himself in Wednesday to face bribery charges. But instead his colleagues are grieving his death.

"Because he's so young and we just saw him, and now all of a sudden he is gone so we're honoring and grieving," said Opa-locka Mayor Myra Taylor.

Pinder died Tuesday after his city-owned Chevy Tahoe rammed headfirst into a tree near the Opa-locka airport.

Luis B. Santiago said, "The loss that we have for a friend, our brother and a great leader, my colleague."

With flags lowered, the city honored the man they say did so much for the city – from beautification projects to his work with the youth.

"He had a passion for the kids, the booster club, our young people, and so it's a great loss for this city," said Joseph Kelley.

Pinder always worked with children and juveniles, alongside the community, to help them and try to make them be a better person for the future.

Taylor said even though they lost a great man, Pinder's legacy can be seen throughout the city.

"Pretty much every area of the city he had a hand on it," she said.

Police have not yet said if Pinder left a note or if they found any items in his car that may reveal why he crashed into the tree.

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