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A tragic accident in Opa-locka left one man dead and two women in critical condition when a speeding vehicle crashed and became a fireball in front of a residential home.
The accident occurred on Sunday around 7:10 a.m. at the area of Northwest 135th Street and 27th Avenue, when the car—identified by the police as a Lamborghini—lost control, crashed into several parked cars, before colliding with a house and catching fire.
According to Local 10, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office (MDSO) identified the deceased driver on Monday as Steven Lenard Hadley, 35 years old, who would have turned 36 years old precisely on that Monday, one day after the fatal accident.
Authorities explained that Hadley was ejected from the vehicle upon impact and pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.
The two women who were traveling as passengers were transported by helicopter to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
Neighborhood witnesses described scenes of terror.
"They lost control of the car and then the car crashed into a few bushes, went airborne, and started hitting everything in its path," said Carlos Tapanes to Telemundo 51, a witness to the accident.
James Moyer, resident of the affected home, stated that after the impact "the car became a fireball."
Moyer also recounted that he and his wife helped to pull one of the passengers away from the burning vehicle: "The girl was nearby, I moved her away from the car with my wife. She had broken bones, could barely breathe, trying to fight for her life at that moment."
Initially, the Fire Department reported that three people had been taken to the hospital, but an hour later, the MDSO confirmed the death of the driver.
It is worth noting that there is a discrepancy between sources regarding the type of vehicle: while the Opa-locka Police and Telemundo 51 identified it as a Lamborghini, the channel WSVN described it as an orange Corvette. The discrepancy has not been officially resolved.
Although the incident occurred within the jurisdiction of Opa-locka, the investigation was handled by the MDSO Traffic Homicide Unit, a common practice when accidents result in fatalities in small municipalities within the county.
Neighbors pointed out that speeding is a chronic problem on that road. Tapanes reported having contacted local commissioners to demand road safety measures in the area.
The history of fatal accidents in Miami-Dade supports that neighborhood concern.
Just 22 days earlier, on April 4th, another fatal accident occurred on the same NW 135th Street, at the intersection with 47th Avenue: a car crashed into a tree, caught fire, and the driver died; a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s deputy was injured when struck by another vehicle while blocking the intersection.
This area of Miami-Dade also has a history of luxury vehicles driving at high speeds.
In September 2023, a Lamborghini struck several cars on the NE 79th Street bridge, resulting in the death of a man; the driver was arrested for driving with a suspended license.
In June 2022, another Lamborghini driver died after crashing into a pole in Little River, leaving a passenger seriously injured.
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