A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy was in critical condition Wednesday night at Broward Health North, where he underwent a five-hour brain surgery after a single-car crash on Interstate 95 early Wednesday.
Family, friends and BSO coworkers were keeping an around-the-clock vigil at the bedside of Deputy Daniel Rivera, 32.
It's unknown what caused the crash which happened around 6:15 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-95 just north of Atlantic Boulevard near Copans Road.
Officials said Rivera was taken as a trauma alert with life-threatening injuries to the hospital.
"The deputy's injuries are serious," BSO spokeswoman Dani Moschella said. "They are significant."
The BSO said Rivera is a 10-year law enforcement veteran who started with the agency in 2003 as a deputy in the Department of Detention. He moved to the Department of Law Enforcement in May 2012.
He was on his way to work and was getting off at an exit when the crash happened, the BSO said.
Footage showed the deputy's car wrapped around a palm tree just off the highway.
Employees of a nearby taxidermy business said they heard the car slam into the tree.
“I was just working out back and I heard a loud thump, I didn’t know what it was, I thought maybe some of the boxes had fallen over cause it was raining really hard,” Roger Hrenyo said. "The car was wrapped around one of the palm trees and it didn’t look good."
A BSO communications training specialist was on his way to work when he saw the crash and notified BSO, officials said.
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The crash caused heavy delays in the southbound lanes of I-95 as authorities investigated.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel asked that anyone who saw anything to please call them.
"We just ask that if you saw anything, please call our traffic homicide investigators and they’ll come out and meet with you and you can let us know what you saw," Israel said.
Anyone with info can call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
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