The mother of a woman killed after a collision with a Hialeah Police officer's cruiser filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city Tuesday.
Andrea Castillo, 21, died within days of being ejected from her boyfriend's Jeep, after it collided with a police cruiser driven by Officer Raul Somarriba on the night of Oct. 19, 2012.
A Hialeah Police investigation found the Jeep driver and Castillo's boyfriend, Marco Barrios, to be at fault for the wreck. It determined that Barrios ran a stop sign at the intersection of East 9th Court and East 49th Street.
But the Castillo family attorney, Carlos Silva, told NBC 6 that surveillance video they have obtained shows Officer Somarriba was driving irresponsibly on his way to a non-emergency call.
"What it shows is the officer doing a very high rate of speed in a 40-mile-an-hour zone," Silva said. "We know that this vehicle was traveling well over 80 miles an hour, we also know he blew through a red light."
The suit, filed after a six-month statutory period, also highlights the critical moments after the wreck. Though Castillo was found to be unresponsive after the crash, she was taken to the hospital via ambulance, while Somarriba, whose injuries included broken bones, was transported quickly via helicopter.
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Silva said Castillo's mother, Miami-Dade School Board member Susie Castillo, has made several requests to sit down with Hialeah officials, but a meeting, he said, has not been held. In a statement to NBC 6 South Florida, Castillo said she and her family are still grieving and wants those accountable to be held responsible for her daughter's death.
Silva reiterated that at the Miami-Dade courthouse steps Tuesday afternoon.
"When they do something wrong, they're accountable,” he said. “They should be held responsible, and not hide behind the badge."
Barrios has also filed a suit against the city.
So far the city is refusing to comment on either lawsuit.
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