An elderly man has died after a violent collision between a police cruiser and an airport shuttle bus early this morning in Miami Beach.
The accident occurred just after 4 a.m. when the cruiser collided with a SuperShuttle bus at Abbott Ave. and 71st St.
The police officer driving the cruiser, from Sunny Isles, was hospitalized after the crash. He was transporting a prisoner, who wasn't hurt in the accident.
Another man and his 11-year-old daughter were pulled out of the SuperShuttle bus by a tow truck driver who was driving past the accident. According to witnesses the bus rolled over but ended up back on its wheels.
"I heard the screeching of the tires as the van rolled over and I ran outside," said Stephanie Quintanilla, who lives nearby where the accident occurred. "The guy from the tow truck pulled the little girl out through the window."
The little girl, Sophia Durian, said the tow truck driver saved them. "He helped us so much, he took everybody out of the car," she said. She and her father were on their way to the airport for a trip to Colombia.
The name of the victim was not released.
