A South Florida is asking for the community’s help after a driver slammed into their SUV last week, speeding off from the scene shortly after.
Hortencia Vasquez was ejected from the SUV, according to her husband, Alfredo Vasquez.
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“The car tumbled like four or five times and my wife came out of the window,” Alfredo said. “She has injuries to her brain, her face, broken bones…”
He says Hortencia is now sedated at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center with an uncertain future of recovery. The family has set up this GoFundMe to help offset the costs of medical bills. Hortencia is the leader of their small family-run business.
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It was around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 3, when Hortencia was riding with three other family members in a Toyota RAV-4 SUV on the Dolphin Expressway near the Red Road exit when family members say a car veered into them.
But Francisco Vasquez says it was the second car that hit the SUV that caused the most damage and ejected his mother from the vehicle.
“The car veered into her lane, hit my sister… she rammed into the wall. They were okay for 2 or 3 seconds,” Francisco said. “Another car was coming from behind, full speed and rammed into them from the back.”
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He says two doctors who were driving by stopped to help his mother while waiting for first responders to arrive, but the driver who hit them the second time left the scene.
The family believes the person was driving a white sedan. Unfortunately, no other details were provided by Florida Highway Patrol. FHP says the traffic cameras on the 836 (Dolphin Expressway) do not record footage and are used for live viewing.
“That was a whole family. My whole life was there,” Alfredo said. “We just want you to come forward and make sure you’re responsible. Confront what you did…see what you did and pay for what you did.”
He is asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash to come forward to help find the driver responsible.