Driver fell asleep before hitting 2 runners during Florida Keys race: FHP

A driver who struck two runners during a race in the Florida Keys this past weekend, leaving them hospitalized with serious injuries, had fallen asleep behind the wheel, authorities said.

A Florida Highway Patrol report released Wednesday said the 23-year-old woman was behind the wheel of a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica heading north on U.S. 1 near mile marker 17 when she fell asleep around 2 p.m. Saturday.

The two men were running south on U.S. 1 at the time on the east shoulder, the report said.

The driver exited the travel lane to the right, resulting in the front right of the vehicle colliding with the first runner, according to the FHP report. The vehicle then reportedly continued north and collided with the second runner, before coming to stop on U.S. 1's right shoulder.

The report said alcohol was not believed to be a factor in the crash.

Family members said the runners were taking part in the Keys 100, a 100-mile race from Key Largo to Key West, when they were struck.

The race's director responded to the incident in a statement to NBC6.

"Our concern is with the runners who were injured and their families. We believe that their privacy should be respected during this very difficult time. For any further discussion, I suggest that you contact the Florida Highway Patrol and the officers who conducted the investigation," the statement read.

The wife of one of the victims, Matt D., spoke with NBC6 Tuesday from Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where he continues his recovery.

Family Photos

The wife, Sara, said she flew down to Miami after her husband was hospitalized. She said doctors had to amputate part of her husband's right arm.

She said her husband is a surgeon and a professional marathon runner, so it wasn't his first race.

"This was supposed to be a fun event, we were hoping to have a family vacation and it has destroyed our lives for as long as we will know it," she said.

Now the family is seeking answers about how this could have happened at an organized race.

"They were part of an official race, all I know is they weren't on their own, they were part of an organized event and I don't comprehend the details. Why? How?" she said.

NBC6 spoke with the wife of the other runner who said her husband, Gabriel, is a professor at the University of Miami and an avid runner.

She said he was hospitalized and it's expected he will lose some function in his right arm.

NBC6 spoke with the race director Bob Becker over the phone. He said what happened Saturday was an unfortunate car accident.

Becker said part of the race is on the road and the accident happened where participants were running on the shoulder. He added they have several safety protocols in place, from sheriff’s deputies to cones and signage.

However Gabriel's wife, who said she was at the race, said there weren't any safety measures in the area where her husband was hit.

In an email, Becker responded by saying, “Seven Mile Bridge is coned, not the entire course. It never has been and there has been no comment ever to that effect.”

The two wives believe the accident was preventable and what they want now is to prevent it from happening again.

“In our experience all of these ultra races if there's any kind of vehicles involved usually the roads are closed off to vehicles so I don't really understand what the car was doing there,” Sara said.