One man was killed and another person was injured after a car struck a power pole and rolled into a house in Opa-locka early Monday morning.
The incident happened around 1 a.m. in the area of Opa-locka Boulevard and Northwest 19th Avenue when the driver lost control of the 1987 Buick Grand National, Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said.
The driver of the car, 37-year-old Julian Lamar Mitchell, was ejected and died at the scene as the car, which had been traveling at a high rate of speed, caught fire, Zabaleta said.
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"I heard loud screeching, loud crashing, crashing, crashing, closer, closer, closer and boom, wow, that's right at my door," said Allen Burow, who lives in the home.
the car's passenger was rushed to Jackson North Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
It's unknown what caused the car to crash into the pole, but alcohol is believed to be a factor, Zabaleta said.
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"We do suspect alcohol being involved, simply because of the fact that statements from witnesses were saying they came from a local bar," Zabaleta said.
The residents of the home that was struck weren't injured. Zabaleta said the fact that the car struck the pole made it an extremely dangerous scene.
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"It struck a utility pole and once that happened you're looking at live wires, you see the propensity of the fire," he said. "The scene itself had a lot dangers involved."
Family members of the father of two were distraught and say but they've never known Mitchell to be irresponsible.
"it's real sad because I've been living here for about 20 years and people have not realized that when coming around this curve, Opa-locka Boulevard, it's very, very, very dangerous," neighbor Charles Jackson said.
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