A violent chain collision that occurred this Friday in the city of Doral, in Miami-Dade County, resulted in one fatality and another person hospitalized in critical condition, local authorities reported.
The accident occurred just before 11 in the morning at the intersection of Northwest 36th Street and Northwest 87th Avenue, when the driver of a red GMC truck suffered a cardiac episode, lost control of the vehicle, and crossed the intersection while the traffic light was red, invading the opposite lanes and colliding head-on with a white car, according to the report from WSVN.
The deceased was later identified as Carlos Blanco, a Cuban businessman, according to a report from Univision 23 Miami.
Three vehicles traveling behind the white car that was struck by the truck were involved in a chain reaction collision after the initial impact, bringing the total number of vehicles involved in the incident to at least five.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue declared the incident a Level 1 Mass Casualty Event and dispatched around 18 emergency units to the scene, including the Technical Rescue Team.
The driver of the white car was trapped underneath the truck, with the doors ripped off and the airbags deployed.
The rescuers had to extricate him from the twisted metal and he was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
“We had approximately 18 units responding to this call, including our Technical Rescue units, which used the Jaws of Life to extract one of the patients from the vehicle. We had two critical patients, one of whom was transported by air rescue and the other by ground to a local hospital,” stated the chief of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, Rogelio Vandamas.
In total, six people received medical attention at the scene: four were assessed and discharged on-site, while two were transferred to hospitals.
The driver of the red GMC was also taken by ambulance to receive treatment for his heart condition.
Hours later, authorities confirmed that one of the hospitalized individuals did not survive their injuries, although they did not disclose their identity.
Gustavo Pérez, a survivor who was traveling with his wife and their dog Mia in a white Honda Pilot, described the moment of impact: "What surprises me is the speed that truck gained. The truck took off from in front of me running the red light and suddenly crossed the intersection, hitting all those cars."
Other witnesses reported that the force of the impact was so intense that they mistook it for an explosion: "We thought it was a small explosion," one of them told NBC Miami.
The intersection remained closed for several hours as investigators reconstructed the events, causing significant delays in traffic in the area. The road was reopened in the afternoon.
Given the nature of the incident, the Traffic Homicide Unit of the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office has taken over the investigation to determine the corresponding criminal responsibilities. The identity of the deceased victim has not been publicly disclosed at this time.
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