Woman and 4 Children Dead in ‘Terrible’ Miami Crash; Man Busted for Vehicular Homicide, Drunk Driving
A Florida man is facing vehicular homicide charges after allegedly causing a three-car pileup over the weekend that killed a woman and four children.
Antonio Wilcox Jr., 25, was detained at the “mass casualty” scene, which occurred shortly before 6 p.m. around Northwest 170th Street and 37th Avenue in Miami Gardens on Saturday, Feb. 8.
“Speed was a factor, and alcohol was also a factor,” said Miami Gardens police Sgt. Emmanuel Jeanty at a press conference Saturday evening. ‘It’s a very tough night for our community.”
Authorities said nine people in total were taken to local hospitals after the crash that involved three vehicles: a white Nissan Altima, a black Kia Sorento and a silver Cadillac Escalade, CBS Miami reported. Three people were trapped inside one of the vehicles before they were extricated out, per CBS Miami.
One child was airlifted to the hospital.
“When you’re dealing with an incident of this magnitude, time is of the essence, so whatever type of medical services or vehicles that are available at the time, that’s what’s going to play a factor on where they go,” Jeanty said.
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Video surveillance showed the black Kia colliding into the back of the Nissan, which then plowed into the Cadillac that was driving ahead of them, NBC6 reported.
The woman and four children who died in the crash were in the Nissan, per Local10.
A man who lived in the area ran to the scene to help the people trapped inside the Nissan.
“Terrible, it was terrible,” Jose Nunez told WSVN. “The first instinct was to help the people in the car. I knocked on the door, but the door, it was locked.”
A police officer witnessed the crash and helped detain Wilcox at the scene, according to Local10.
Police have yet to release the names of the victims.
