Service Held Tuesday For SW Dade Teen Killed In Crash
SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) – Teen after teen walked solemnly into a memorial service for Kaely Camacho, a 13-year-old girl who friends say loved to smile. Most wore blue, her favorite color.
"It's just so hard to understand why something like this would happen, and why to someone like her," said her classmate, Spencer Elmsly.
For many of these 13 and 14-year-olds, this is their first encounter with death. Camacho died when, police say, a 38-year-old drunk driver named Sandor Guillen slammed into her father's car while they were going home. Her dad and 16-year-old sister survived, but Kaely was airlifted to Jackson Memorial and died.
"She doesn't deserve this, and we're all going to miss her so much," said classmate Diane Hemingway.
After the crash Guillen jumped out of the Range Rover and ran away. He was eventually taken into custody and placed under arrest while recovering from his injuries at Kendall Regional Hospital. Late Tuesday afternoon, he was discharged from the hospital and transferred to Miami-Dade County Jail.
He's been charged with DUI Manslaughter, Vehicular Homicide, Leaving the Scene of a Crash involving a Death, and two counts of Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Great Bodily Injuries.
In her last minutes alive, Camacho was surrounded by family. In death, she was surrounded by friends at the Christ Fellowship Church in Palmetto Bay.
"The fact that there are so many folks here, so many kids here, just speaks volumes of who she was," said Pastor Sammy Flores of the Christ Fellowship Church.
On Wednesday, Kaely will be laid to rest at Caballero Woodlawn South, at 11655 SW 117th Avenue. The service will be held at 1 p.m.
The family ha
s asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to:
M.A.D.D. Dade County
7700 N Kendall Drive
Suite 803
Miami, FL 33156
