NBC 6’s Victor Jorges reports on a man who is behind bars in the Florida Keys after police said he was behind the wheel of a Maserati while drunk and caused a fiery crash on the Seven Mile Bridge that killed an elderly woman.
A man is behind bars in the Florida Keys after police said he was behind the wheel of a Maserati while drunk and caused a fiery crash on the Seven Mile Bridge that killed an elderly woman.
Mike Muthama, 43, was arrested on a charge of negligent manslaughter and seven other counts, including driving under the influence and causing serious bodily harm in the Monday crash.
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He was being held on no bond Tuesday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, and is due in court August 8.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Muthama was driving a 2015 Maserati Ghibli northbound Monday while trying to pass a 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan. The cars collided and the Volkswagen went into the southbound lanes.
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The passenger in the Volkswagen, 85-year-old Ompora Huaman of Miramar, died at the scene. Three other family members were treated at a Marathon hospital while a 15-year-old girl was flown to Nicklaus Children's Hospital.
Braulio Hashimoto, Huaman's son, told NBC 6 in a phone interview that he and his family were in the Keys because their home’s air conditioning stopped working and they needed to get away.
Muthama was taken to a hospital in Marathon, where his blood-alcohol level registered at .17, authorities said. He was medically cleared and arrested at the hospital.
