HIALEAH (CBS4) – Police have identified the man who was run over and killed Friday while trying to fix the convertible he was driving as it sat on the shoulder of the Palmetto Expressway.

Police said 40-year-old Jose Diaz from Hialeah, who was a mechanic, was traveling in the northbound lanes with two other people when the car they were in made a knocking noise.

Diaz volunteered to look at the problem, but while he bent over the hood a van came from behind and slammed into the car, causing it to run him over and push him 35 feet up the road under its chassis, according to Hialeah Fire Department’s Lt. Cesar Espinosa.

Police said the driver who hit the man’s car is Luis Antonio Roque, 32, from Miami.

Diaz died at the scene, with both passengers witnessing the accident as it unfolded.

Espinosa said the two other passengers, 51-year-old Hector Pedro Gavilla Rojas and 33-year-old Mairel Yunior Suarez, are from Naples. They are related to the victim. They were transported to Palmetto General Hospital.

Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash and will determine if Roque will be charged.

DAVIE (CBS4) – One woman was killed, three other people were injured, in a multi-vehicle crash on the Florida Turnpike in Broward early Sunday morning.

Around 6:20 a.m. a woman driving a Mazda was heading north when she was rear ended about a half mile south of I-595, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald. Drivers coming up on the scene of the crash swerved to avoid hitting it and ended up hitting each other. The woman in the Mazda was killed. Those injured were taken by Davie Fire Rescue to Broward General Medical Center; no word on their conditions.

During their investigation, the Florida Highway Patrol closed all of the northbound lanes to traffic for several hours; drivers were forced to exit at Griffin Road.

The FHP has not released the name of the woman who was killed.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved.  This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)

MIAMI (CBS4) – The family of a woman who died Wednesday morning in a hit and run accident on U.S. 1 asked the public for help in finding the driver responsible.

The accident occurred just after 6 a.m. when a white pickup truck collided with 71-year old Ana Zuniga’s silver Honda at SW 17th Avenue. Investigators said truck clipped the Honda from behind caused Zuniga’s car to lose control and collide with a tree in the median. Zuniga was pronounced dead on the scene. The driver of the white pickup truck took off.

As several people attempted to help Ms. Zuniga, a second accident took place causing everyone to run for safety. The second accident involved three vehicles and the parties involved were treated for minor bruises.

“We had several individuals that stopped to render aid, they ran across the street to Miss Zuniga, but within minutes there was a secondary crash and they ran for dear life, they scattered,” said police spokesman Det. Willie Moreno.

Detectives are searching for the driver of a white pickup truck who fled southbound on Dixie Highway. Additionally, they would like to talk to two witnesses who were speaking with officers prior to the second accident.

Zuniga’s family turned to the media Thursday to ask that these witnesses get in contact with police and that the driver of the truck turn himself in.

“It could happen to you, it happened to us, please help us, it could be your mom,” said Zuniga’s son Gustavo.

Zuniga was a professional cleaning lady.  She also raised her daughter Patricia and son Gustavo on her own.

“She asked me if I thought she was going to live to see my daughter’s wedding,” said Zuniga’s daughter Patricia Nevil. “I told her ‘You have twenty more years at least’, now I feel cheated.”

Wednesday evening police said they received a tip about a man who may have been involved in the crash.

“We’re following several leads within those several leads this is one of those leads we received an
anonymous call,” said police spokesman Det. Willie Moreno.

When officers went to the area where the man reportedly lived they found a white pick up truck in an apartment building’s parking lot in the 15-hundred block of NW 19th Terrace. They also learned that its owner, 23-year old Raul Hernandez, lived in one of the apartments.

After knocking on Hernandez’s door, police asked if they could see his ID. When Hernandez handed them his wallet, police say the officers found a plastic bag inside with what appeared to cocaine. Hernandez was arrested for possession of a substance suspected of being an illegal narcotic and taken to police headquarters where it was discovered there was a bench warrant out for his arrest for driving with a suspended license. Police said there was not enough evidence to charge Hernandez in connection with the crash.

TAMPA (CBS4) – A five-year old girl was killed, three other children and two adults injured, in a five vehicle crash in Tampa.

The accident happened when Rolando Rojas, 52, tried to drive his Ford pickup between two stopped vehicles on Friday.  The truck side-swiped both vehicles then hit a van and another vehicle before it overturned.

All six people inside the van were injured. A 7-year-old girl sustained serious injuries, and two other girls suffered minor injuries. The 25-year-old driver had minor injuries and a 29-year-old passenger was seriously injured.  A 5-year-old girl died Saturday afternoon.

The other drivers and occupants were uninjured.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Rojas received minor injuries and has been charged with driving under the influence with serious bodily injury.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

W MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) – A deadly morning on the road in Miami-Dade as two people were killed in two separate accidents.

In unincorporated western Miami-Dade, one person was killed in an early morning head on collision on Krome Avenue just north of Kendall Drive.

The accident, which involved two SUVs, happened just after 5 a.m.

In addition to the fatality, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue confirmed that two people were airlifted to jackson Memorial Hosspital in critical condition.

Krome Avenue was closed for hours from Kendall Drive to Tamiami Trail for the crash investigation; it re-opened to traffic around 11:30 a.m.

The second fatal accident, which involved a car and a dump truck, occurred around 4:45 a.m. at Miller Drive and SW 157th Ave.

According to investigators the dump truck was heading west on Miller Drive when it was t-boned by a gold Cadillac who was travelling southbound on SW 157^th Avenue.  The driver of the dump truck was killed.  Police suspect the driver of the Cadillac may have driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

MIAMI LAKES (CBS4) — A two vehicle crash near Miami Lakes caused heavy delays for commuters on southbound Interstate 75 and left two people dead including a pregnant woman and her unborn child.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the collision happened at about 5 a.m. on the southbound lanes of I-75 just north of Northwest 138th Street.

According to FHP, a Honda Accord was traveling north in the inside lane of southbound I-75 when it collided with a Nissan Versa, which was traveling southbound.

FHP officials confirm that the two fatalities were from the Nissan Versa, their identities have not been released pending notification of family. Authorities say the two people who were killed are from Naples and they were headed to Miami International Airport.

Traffic was backed up for miles on I-75 and commuters were detoured onto Miami Gardens Drive but the southbound lanes have since re-opened.

The cause of the crash remains undetermined.

MIRAMAR  (CBS4) – A Lauderhill man was killed in a single car crash on Florida’s Turnpike just after midnight Monday morning.

Delano Harvey, 23, was pronounced dead on the scene after the 1999 Honda Civic he was riding in careened off of the northbound lanes of the Turnpike Extension just east of University Drive, and struck a tree.

The Florida Highway Patrol says the car was being driven by Jakeson Stewart, 23, of Fort Lauderdale. Stewart was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital with serious injuries. His condition is unknown.

It is not known if drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash. According to the incident report, a blood alcohol test is pending.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) – One man is dead after his Jeep  jumped a curb and plunged into a canal.

The accident happened either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning near 127th Avenue and NW 25th Street. A security guard spotted the SUV Sunday morning and called police.

“A security guard was conduction his area check and found that a vehicle had crashed through the barricade and fallen into the canal.  Emergency units responded and at that time they found that one Latin male was in the vehicle,” said Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Lt. Rosanna Cordero-Stutz.

Police identified the man as 45-year old Wilfredo Morales.  Investigators will be looking at whether he was driving too fast around the curve when he lost control and ended up in the canal.

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Florida Highway Patrol is asking for a good Samaritan who witnessed a deadly crash on S.R. 826 on Friday night to come forward and help them catch the driver responsible for causing the accident.

According to FHP, Juan Miranda and 73-year-old Martha Miranda were traveling southbound when they were rear-ended just south of NW 74th Street. Miranda lost control of the car and slammed into a guard rail.

Martha Miranda, who was in the passenger seat, was thrown from the car on impact. She was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital where she died. Over the weekend, her husband was released from the hospital.

FHP spokesman Joe Sanchez said after the accident a woman pulled over and used the couple’s cellphone call 911. Even though she witnessed the crash, Sanchez said she left before FHP deputies could arrive to take her statement. They are asking that she get in contact with them because she may have key information which will help them catch the driver responsible.

Police believe the car in question is a dark-colored vehicle with right front end damage.

The couple was married for 54 years. Martha Miranda would’ve turned 74-years-old on Christmas Day.

Anyone with information is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.

HOLLYWOOD (CBS4) – The widow of a City of Miami firefighter killed in a car crash in April 2010 is angry that no charges will be filed against the driver accused of killing him.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that the case against Sherry Marks, the driver who hit and killed Leslie Luma, was “circumstantial as to any theory of impairment.”

Tonika Luma called the decision unacceptable.

“That’s like a slap in the face to me, to him, to his memory,” Luma told CBS 4′s Carey Codd. “No nothing. No charges. No nothing. No. I can’t accept that.”

After the crash, investigative documents revealed that Marks, 21, admitted she “ingested two or three (nitrous oxide) cylinders approximately twenty minutes before getting into her vehicle.” Reports indicate that a total of 17 used nitrous oxide cartridges and 5 unused cartridges were found in her car. Hollywood police officers wrote in the report that the cartridges are used to make “whippets”, which produce a quick high when ingested.

Marks also told investigators she was taking Xanax, which was prescribed, and she “may have blacked out prior to the impact” with Luma.

Investigators took Marks’ blood and, according to a prosecutor’s memo, “the toxicology results confirm that there were no substances in Ms. Marks’ blood that would result in her being impaired.”

Marks’ father, Rick, said the decision is vindication for his daughter.

“It was an accident plain and simple,” Marks said. “It’s just a shame. It really is a shame. Accidents happen every day.”

The decision only brings more questions for Tonika Luma.

“How do you blank out?,” she asked. “You admit to taking something, you admit to getting behind the wheel of the car, knowingly that you took something, knowing that whatever medication you took can make you blank out and still you don’t get punished?”

Leslie Luma was a devoted husband father of four and a firefighter who saved lives. His rescue efforts in Haiti following the earthquake were lauded in a letter from President Barack Obama.

Tonika Luma says her family suffers every day.

“My family’s being punished every day missing their son, their dad, their brother,” she said. “Everyday we’re going thru it on a daily basis. Something happens and we miss him.”

Rick Marks’ said his daughter suffers too.

“At first she quit school,” he said. “She was devastated. She still has anxiety attacks and stuff like that.”

Marks said his daughter is back in college and plans to pursue a career as a pharmacist.

Tonika Luma, meanwhile, believes prosecutors shortchanged her husband out of the justice he deserved by not filing charges.

“That’s like a slap in the face to me, to him, to his memory,” she said. “No nothing. No charges. No nothing. No. I can’t accept that.”

WESTON (CBSMiami) – An accident on I-75 in Weston turned deadly when a vehicle hit a bridge support and burst into flames, leaving

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the accident took place just north of Royal Palm Boulevard in the southbound direction of I-75 around shortly before 10 a .m.

A van drove off the road and slammed head on into the Indian Trace/SW 14th Street overpass bridge support. The vehicle caught on fire and the driver, Roberto Ortuso, was trapped and died, according to FHP.

Ortuso was 48-years-old and was from Plantation.

WESTON (CBS4) – An 11 year old lab mix is bringing a South Florida family some comfort after a deadly Christmas Eve crash.

Chris Goss died in the accident on I-95 in Volusia County. She was traveling home from vacation with her family and their dog, Tasha.

The loss devastated Goss’s fiancé Steven Hausman and the family. Goss and Hausman planned to marry in August, but they became a family a long time ago.  Steven and his daughter Elyssa moved in with Chris and her children, Amanda and Jeffery.

“Bloodlines didn’t matter,” explained Elyssa, 17.   “It was just the love we had for each other and the connections we had.”

Amanda was away at  school when the rest of her family was in the accident.

“I got a phone call from my stepdad that they had been in a car crash and my mom didn’t make it,” she said.

Through their grief the family realized another family member was missing.  Tasha, the family dog, likely flew through the back windshield. No one could find her after the crash.

The dog was more than just the family pet, she was a connection to Chris.

“Tasha was always by her side,” said Amanda.

From their home in Weston, Goss’s children called every organization they could to ask for help finding their dog, but it was hard to stay hopeful.

“I was fully prepared that she was dead,” said Jeffery.

Then, the day after their mother’s funeral, the call came. Tasha was alive.

A Volusia County animal services worker caught her after several people reported seeing her  along the same stretch of 95 where the car crashed nearly a week earlier.

Animal Services Worker Toni Contarino said the dog ran into the woods, but she followed her.  The dog was dehydrated and had a large gash on her head. Contarino took her to a local vet who performed surgery.

“I was just happy to get her back to her family,” said Contarino.

A veterinarian at Ravenwood Veterinary Clinic performed surgery on Tasha’s head wound, and an employee drove her four hours home to Weston.

”Her coming home was the first time we had all smiled in six days,” said Amanda, adding, “I think my mom had something to do with the dog making it.  I’ve never believed in miracles or anything like that it’s just there’s no other way to explain it .”

Now that she’s home, Elyssa says the family is finding some comfort.

“She fills a small part of the very large hole that we all have in our hearts.”

WESTCHESTER (CBSMiami) – One person was killed early Friday morning when a car and a garbage truck crashed in a Westchester intersection.

The crash took place at the intersection of SW 87th Avenue and 48th Street.

Police say a Nissan Altima was traveling west on 48th Street when it collided with the dump truck, which was traveling south on 87th Avenue. Police say the Altima violated the right of way at the flashing red light intersection.

The crash caused the dump truck to careen onto a residential lawn, nearly hitting a home.

The driver of the Altima, Eric Steven Gonzalez, 20, was killed.

The truck driver. William Agreda, 59, suffered minor injuries.

The cause of the accident is under investigation and it’s not known who may have been at fault.

DAVIE (CBSMiami) – A Davie man was killed in an early morning accident on a State Road 84 ramp.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Gregory Travers, 41, was on the eastbound SR84 ramp from State Road 7 when he lost control and slammed into a bridge support. Travers, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from his Toyota Camry as it rolled over.

Travers was pronounced dead at the scene.

The FHP said they are waiting for results of toxicology tests to determine of alcohol played a role in the crash.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) – A Coral Gables man has been charged for causing a deadly hit and run accident in Southwest Miami-Dade that claimed the life of a 13-year-old girl who was riding with her family in a minivan early Friday morning.

According to Miami-Dade Police, Sandor Guillen, 38, was driving a 2010 Range Rover southbound on the U.S. 1 busway when he slammed into 47-year-old Kirk Camacho’s 2002 Chrysler Town & Country minivan as he was driving eastbound on SW 184th Street.

Guillen has 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.

“All of a sudden, we hear ‘bang’ and a woman screaming,” said German Pascual who helped pull a victim from the van. “We helped take her out of the van. Her father grabbed her in her arms. He laid down next to the tree in the grass and kept saying ‘don’t leave me, don’t leave.”

Camacho’s two young daughters, 16-year-old Breeann and 13-year-old Kaely were both in the mini-van.

Police said Guillen jumped out of the Range Rover and ran away but he was eventually taken into custody.

(Source: CBS4) A hit and run accident claimed the life of 13-year-old Kaely Camacho who was riding in her father's mini-van on Friday, April 13, 2012.

“You can see from the damage of the actual mini-van, it’s missing the second half; the impact was very severe,” Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Det. Alvaro Zabaleta.

Kaely was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center where she died surrounded by her family.

Pascual was heart broken after he heard Kaely died.

“Terrible, it could be one of my kids,” Pascaul said.

Her sister Breeann and her father Kirk were also hospitalized, treated and released.

Guillen was taken to Kendall Regional Hospital in stable condition.

“We do know that speed was a factor,” Detective Zabaleta said. “This individual was driving in the busway where he was not supposed to be.”

Pascual could only think of the family after the accident.

“I hope that God gives them some peace,” Pascual said.

Charges against Guillen are pending.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) – The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for a car that fled the scene of a deadly crash on the turnpike late Friday night.

FHP spokesman Mark Wysocky said three vehicles were traveling northbound on the turnpike near Southwest 200 Street when one of the vehicles, thought to be a light colored Chrysler PT Cruiser, struck a Nissan Pathfinder while attempting to change lanes. The impact caused the Pathfinder, driven by Bryan Echevarria, 29, to spin out of control and end up facing southbound.

A tow truck, also traveling northbound, struck the Pathfinder head on. A passenger in the Pathfinder, Elizabeth Sanchez, 37, was pronounced dead at Kendall Regional Hospital. Echevarria was also transported to the hospital and is in serious condition. The driver of the tow truck, Ernesto Diaz, 20, was not injured.

Echevarria’s girlfriend’s daughter told CBS4′s Tiffani Helberg that everyone is in shock.

I feel so bad it has me kind of speechless in a way cause I’m taken aback by this I can’t believe that this happened,” said Karolyn Pena. “This is not fair. “How are you gonna kill someone and just run away how coward can you be? We need to find out who he is or who she is. This can’t happen they didn’t deserve that.”

Pena said Sanchez was a family friend and the mother of two teenagers, age 15 and 16.

“All I thought about was her kids,” said Pena. “I didn’t know what to say about her kids. I feel so bad for her daughter. He daughter is so she has such a beautiful heart and she needs a mom so bad. Her moms gone and I don’t know what to do.”

The driver believed to have caused the crash fled the scene. The Chrysler PT Cruiser, or car with similar body style, would have driver’s side front damage

Anyone with information about the accident or driver is urged to call FHP or Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.

TALLAHASSEE (AP) — A series of deadly January crashes on Interstate 75 could trigger more than a dozen lawsuits against the state of Florida.

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles acknowledged Tuesday that it has received 13 lawsuit notices from people who either were injured in the crashes or had family members killed.

Eleven people were killed and 18 hospitalized because of the crashes on a January night near Gainesville. The interstate was covered with smoke and fog.

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement report found the Florida Highway Patrol made mistakes in reopening the highway about 30 minutes before the crashes began.

The highway safety agency — which oversees the highway patrol — plans to respond Friday to the FDLE report and release its own investigation into the crash.

Julie Jones, the executive director of the agency, told Gov. Rick Scott and members of the Florida Cabinet that the report will respond in a “specific and collegial manner” to the problems cited by the FDLE.

But Jones also made it clear that the state would be cautious in responding to media questions about the accident because of the pending lawsuits.

So far the state has been notified by lawyers representing surviving family members of five people who died, including four people from Kennesaw, Ga., who were traveling in a church van.

The estate of Vontavia Robinson, who was from Williston near Gainesville, Fla., has also filed a notice of intent to sue.

A lawyer representing Bernard and Margie Dewitt stated that the accident had left 57-year-old Margie Dewitt with a brain injury and that she has been in a comatose state since January.

The FDLE report found no criminal violations but stated that the Highway Patrol lieutenant who ordered the road reopened had no formal training in procedures for opening and reopening roads.

The report also noted that his decision was supported by other governmental agencies including the Florida Forest Service and state Department of Transportation.

The road had been closed for several hours after smoke from a wildfire, mixed with fog, blanketed the highway where it cut through Paynes Prairie State Park.

The report says a sergeant expressed concerns about reopening the road, but says the order was given because the Highway Patrol lieutenant was worried that keeping the busy highway closed also would be dangerous.

(© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

NW DADE (CBSMiami) – Approximately 700 residents and businesses of a northwest Miami-Dade neighborhood lost power Wednesday morning after a traffic accident in which a pedestrian was killed and an SUV slammed into a utility pole.

It happened on 72nd Avenue near NW 4th Street.

Chopper4 over the scene spotted a silver sedan with damage to rear driver’s side in the entrance way to a condominium. A yellow tarp covered body lying nearby.

A dark colored Ford Explorer was spotted less than a dozen yards away, its front end severely damaged from smashing into a utility pole which was leaning dangerous close to the condo building.

Traffic homicide investigators say the Explorer was involved in a crash with the Sentra at the intersection of 1^st Terrace and NW 72^nd Avenue.   The driver of the Explorer allegedly tried to escape the scene of the crash by driving northbound on NW 72^nd Avenue.  At 4^th Street they lost control, hit a pedestrian on the sidewalk before slamming into the pole.

Miami police have not released the name of the person who died.

DANIA BEACH (CBSMiami) – BSO investigators are looking into what caused a driver to slam his car into a Motel 6 in Dania Beach early Friday morning.

According to BSO, a car crashed into a wall of the Motel 6 located at 825 E. Dania Beach Boulevard around 6:09 a.m.

The male driver, the only person in the car, died at the scene.

Details of the incident are unknown.

Traffic Homicide Investigators will try to determine how the incident occurred. No one else was injured.

PLANTATION (CBSMiami) – One person was killed, two others hurt after a car collided with a bus in Plantation early Tuesday morning.

According to Plantation Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Joel Gordon, a car rear-ended a Broward County Transit Bus at NW 108th Avenue and West Broward Boulevard.

The passenger of the car died on the scene and the driver was hospitalized in critical condition.

There were 4 passengers on the bus and the driver.

One passenger on the bus was hospitalized with minor injuries.

The eastbound lanes of Broward Boulevard are shut down from Hiatus Road to Nob Hill Road.