Dangerous Drive

Family calls for change at Miami intersection where motorcyclist died in crash

Fabricio Gonzalez, a 34-year-old motorcyclist, was on his daily commute to work when he collided with a car at the intersection of Southwest 27th Avenue and Southwest 27th Street in January. The impact was fatal.

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NBC6’s Johanna Torres reports.

A grieving family is demanding urgent safety improvements at a busy Miami intersection where their loved one lost his life in a crash earlier this year.

Fabricio Gonzalez, a 34-year-old motorcyclist, was on his daily commute to work when he collided with a car at the intersection of Southwest 27th Avenue and Southwest 27th Street in January. The impact was fatal.

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His aunt, Horolen Restrepo, says the crash was not an isolated incident but part of a larger pattern of danger in the area.

“The state and local authorities have put many signs in this intersection trying to keep it safe… but unfortunately, it's not working,” Restrepo said. “Things need to change to avoid any more tragedies from happening.”

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Surveillance footage from a nearby camera captured the devastating moment of impact.

According to Miami police, Gonzalez was riding southbound when the collision occurred. It’s a route he traveled regularly.

“It was part of his daily commute,” Restrepo added. “This is a horrible thing to experience.”

In response to concerns about traffic safety, Miami-Dade County launched a public website in December as part of its Vision Zero initiative, which aims to eliminate traffic-related deaths by 2040. The site features an interactive crash map that displays incidents involving serious injuries and fatalities from 2019 to 2023.

Josiel Ferrer-Diaz, interim director for the county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works, emphasized the importance of data in driving meaningful change.

“There is no good plan without good measurements,” Ferrer-Diaz said. “We are working together with a task force to establish key performance indicators so we can track our progress year to year.”

According to the data, 1,655 people were killed or seriously injured on Miami-Dade roads in 2023 alone. Of those incidents, 44% involved bicyclists, motorcyclists, or pedestrians.

While only one other serious crash was reported at the intersection of Southwest 27th Avenue and Southwest 27th Street in 2022, Gonzalez’s family believes that’s one too many—and that changes are needed now.

“Things could change if people actually cared about this intersection. It is too dangerous to commute through here,” one relative said.

The family is calling for three specific improvements.

  1. Block off the intersection entirely,
  2. Install a median,
  3. Add a traffic light—or at the very least—limit traffic to right turns only.

“It’s giving the commuters too many options for such a narrow space,” Restrepo said.

To push for action, the family has launched a petition on Change.org, hoping to raise awareness and ensure that no other family has to endure the pain they now carry.

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