Teen Driver Arrested In Deadly Hit And Run In Miami
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami police have charged a 17-year-old with vehicular homicide in connection with a deadly and run.
Investigators identified Fernando Altamirano as the driver of a stolen 2021 white Range Rover that caused the fatal accident.
In addition to vehicular homicide, Altamirano is charged with four other felony charges including leaving the scene of a crash with a death, leaving the scene of crash with serious bodily injury, and driving without a license.
CBS4 has obtained video from a building's security camera that shows the victim's red Nissan Altima driving to the intersection where they lost their lives and video from a nearby gas station where the suspect's stolen car was seen getting gas before the deadly crash.
Miami Police spokesman Officer Mike Vega told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "This was great detective work by homicide detectives and our neighborhood resource officers in Little Havana who identified those involved and who knows who the kids are. One of the first things we got was a video of the two people taking off their sweatshirts and throwing them in a dumpster. The 17-year-old now faces 13 charges and five of them are felonies including vehicular homicide."
The accident took place Monday Jan. 24. Police say two vehicles collided just before noon at NW 3rd Street and NW 11th Avenue.
Miguel Noguera, the victim's husband, came to the crime scene and said he and family members were heartbroken. "Everybody loved her," he said, "and when everybody found out they were devastated."
"There was a white Range Rover that was traveling southbound on NW 11th Avenue when the red vehicle, which was occupied by two females, was traveling eastbound on 3rd Street when that white SUV truck blew past the stop sign striking that vehicle that hit an additional four vehicles that were parked on the side of the road," said Miami Police Officer Kiara Delva at the time of the accident.
The two women in the red car, both in their 60s, were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in serious condition, however, 63-year-old Mayra Sanchez passed away at the hospital on Monday night.
After the crash, the driver and his 14-year-old passenger in the Range Rover fled on foot.
"One of the things we got from investigators was that the suspect who was arrested had been planning to leave Florida. They knew they were in a stolen vehicle and they were going 50 mph when they ran through the stop sign in a residential area. They just feared getting in another accident and they just decided to run," said Vega.
He said they were taking a joyride in a stolen car.
"It's something that is very sad. This could've been my mother or your mother or they were just out doing their daily chores when they were hit by these youngsters," said Vega.
Altamirano lives two blocks from the scene and his mother told CBS4 that she did not want to say anything. He made an appearance in juvenile court on Thursday afternoon and the judge ordered that he be held in secure detention.
Vega said it is possible there will be at least one other arrest.
According to a police report, Altimirano told police he was distracted because his girlfriend had called him just before the crash. After the accident, he said he and one other person who was in the car hid out in an abandoned building. The report says a female who picked him had seen the news and urged him to turn himself in but he told her he was not driving. But police say he later admitted to being behind the wheel and another person who they interviewed told them he was the driver.
The report said that police considered Altimirano to be a flight risk because he was in the country illegally and even if his passport were confiscated he could get a new one at his country's consular office.
He came before a judge in juvenile court and after the charges were read, his mother said she was going to hire her own attorney rather than accept a court-appointed Public Defender. The state said it was reviewing the case and could charge him as an adult if they decide to do a "direct file." He faces another hearing February 16th.
The second woman injured in the crash, Dania Montero, is in extremely critical condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital with head trauma, a broken spine, a lacerated spleen, and hip fractures.
