Florida Injury Attorneys Blog

Tyler K. Burdhimo of Oakland Park, Florida was arrested after he allegedly struck and killed Maria Konstantinidis in a hit-and-run car accident, according to news reports. Burdhimo, 18, has been charged with driving without a valid driver's license and leaving the scene of a crash involving a fatality, sources indicate. He was reportedly booked into Broward County Jail on the charges, where he was granted $17,500 bail bond. If he posts the bond, sources indicate that he will have to don a GPS locator before he is freed. It is not clear whether Burdhimo has retained a private criminal defense lawyer to help him with the charges.

News sources indicate that Burdhimo has been accused of being involved in a crash that occurred on Tuesday morning in the 1500 block of Northeast 45th Street. In a public announcement, a Broward County Sheriff's office spokesperson reportedly stated that Konstantinidis, 75, had been walking along the street near the intersection of 15th Terrace and North East 45th Street just after sunrise when she was struck by a four-door Nissan Ultima. Investigators purportedly noted that the lack of skid marks in the area indicated that the driver had not stopped after the accident occurred.

Konstantinidis was reportedly found in the street wearing clothes that suggested she was exercising at the time of the crash. Police found a "Nissan" emblem on the ground near her, according to sources. Konstantinidis was transported to Broward General Medical Center for medical treatment, but she died a few hours later of injuries sustained in the accident, reports indicate.

Authorities reportedly connected the collision with Burdhimo after someone called in an anonymous tip indicating that a vehicle matching the description of the hit-and-run car was parked at a home approximately two blocks away from where the accident occurred. Police investigated the claim, which led them to a damaged 2007 Nissan Altima located at the 4300 block of Northeast 15th Terrace. Deputies evidently notice that the damage to the Nissan was consistent with damage from hitting a pedestrian and that the car was missing its' front grill emblem.

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Rosa Maria Rivera-Kim of Plantation, Florida was charged with the March death of Alanna DeMella today, reports indicate. Rivera-Kim, 24, was reportedly arrested at approximately 2:00 p.m. on charges of DUI manslaughter with an unlawful blood alcohol level, DUI manslaughter with impairment, and DUI property damage. It is not yet known whether she has qualified for bail bond.

The car accident in question, which made international headlines, occurred on March 18 at approximately 1:30 p.m. in a cabana located in the pool area of Riverside Hotel. The hotel is located on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Rivera-Kim later explained to investigators that she had been on her way back from lunch with her husband when the crash occurred. She had reportedly just started eating at a Mangos Restaurant and Lounge, located at 904 E. Las Olas Boulevard, when she and her husband got into an argument. Rivera-Kim told investigators that she became upset and left, leaving her half-finished appetizers and martini at the restaurant.

Rivera-Kim reported that as she drove by the hotel, she lost control of her silver 2006 Audi, sources indicate. Coverage of the accident says that Rivera-Kim crossed an eastbound lane of the road and crashed into the cabana-style bathroom near the pool of the hotel. Alanna DeMella, 27 and seven months pregnant, was reportedly using the facility at the time of the crash. Sources indicate that she died on impact. Witnesses at the hotel reported that the cabana partially collapsed when the car hit it.

A witness later told police that Rivera-Kim had been going over the 25 mile per hour speed limit posted on the road, according to reports. Rivera-Kim reportedly told investigators at the crash site that she did not remember hitting the building. Toxicology reports of blood taken from Rivera-Kim at the crash site showed that her blood alcohol level at the time of the collision was 0.24%. The legal blood alcohol percentage for operating a motor vehicle is 0.08%.

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Melvin Jonathan Gouthro was struck in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida hit-and-run accident that left him with serious injures, news sources indicate. Gouthro, 41, was last reported to be at Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition. Police are still looking for the driver, who was reportedly fled the scene in a black sedan. Pompano Beach Rotary Club, of which Gouthro is a member, has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the hit-and-run driver.

According to reports, the accident occurred on Saturday at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Seabreeze Boulevard. Gouthro, a Bahamas resident, was reportedly staying in the area for pleasure and was walking to W Hotel, where he was staying, when the collision occurred. He was reportedly coming from city docks near East Las Olas Boulevard, where he had left his Ocean Sportfish yacht after spending the day watching the Lauderdale Air show with friends aboard the vessel.

A witness to the accident reported that after striking Gouthro, the hit-and-run vehicle fled down Poinsetta Street. The license plate number of the vehicle remains unknown, and no other description is yet available. It is not clear whether Gouthro was crossing the street at a crosswalk. The witness called police to report the accident, and Gouthro was transported to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment.

Gouthro's business partner from Walton & Company CPAs, located in Boca Raton, told the press that his friend had yet to regain consciousness. "He is showing signs of responsiveness, but his eyes are closed," said R. Walton of his accountant business partner. "I hope they get the driver. It was a very criminal act to leave him there." It is not clear what kinds of injuries Gouthro sustained. Gouthro's family has reportedly declined to comment on the accident, and it is unknown whether they are seeking the services of a personal injury lawyer.

Gouthro's friends say that Gouthro is a generous and kind man. "He is always the person to pick you up at the airport," one of Gouthro's Rotary Club friends told the press. "He's very gracious and very generous with charities in the Bahamas and made a lot of anonymous donations. If we needed $500 to donate books, he'd be the first to give it himself."

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Elijah Smith of Miami, Florida was arrested after he allegedly hit a school bus last Wednesday, causing it to careen into a nearby home. Damage to the home was so extensive that it now has to be demolished. Smith, 39, was booked at Miami-Dade County Jail on charges of leaving the scene of crash with an injury, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, having an expired drivers license, and habitually driving with a suspended license. He remains incarcerated in lieu of paying $11,500 bail bond. It is not clear whether Mr. Smith has retained a private criminal defense attorney.

According to the car accident report, the collision occurred last Wednesday and involved a home located at 2100 Northwest 47th Street at approximately 2:30 p.m.. Smith was allegedly driving his black Dodge Durango down the street when he ran a stop sign and crashed into the school bus. The school bus driver, who was driving two special needs students home from Edison Park Elementary School, subsequently lost control of the vehicle. The bus reportedly crashed through a fence and ended up lodged in the home.

The two children and two adults aboard the school bus at the time of the accident were all treated on the scene for minor injuries. The residence contained two people, 78-year-old Collis McDuffie and his granddaughter, Dominique McDuffie. The bus reportedly crashed through a bedroom, and damage to the house was extensive enough to wear authorities have deemed it structurally unsound. It is scheduled to be demolished soon. It is not clear where the McDuffie family plans to relocate, nor it is clear whether they plan on pursing damages.

"I just turned around and I see a bus inside the house," Dominique McDuffie told reporters, explaining that she had just walked out of her room and into the kitchen when the accident occurred. The bus crashed into her room. "I'm blessed to be alive because I could have been still in that room," Dominique said. Her grandfather reflected that sentiment. "I feel good cause I didn't get hurt, she didn't get hurt, that's a blessing right there," Collis McDuffie told reporters. "The house can be replaced but you can't replace life."

A witness reported seeing Smith leave the site of the hit-and-run accident on foot. "The guy was on the phone, talking. I just heard him say that he ran the stop sign, and then he was talking on the phone and the next thing you know, he disappeared," the witness, who lives nearby, told the press. Smith was apprehended the day after the accident occurred. It is not clear what information led to his arrest.

Some have speculated that the school bus driver, whose name has not been released, may have been speeding at the time of the accident. The speed limit in the area, which is in a school zone, is 15 miles per hour, and the school bus was unable to stop in the 15 feet between the road and house. While the school bus driver has not commented on the speculation, Miami-Dade County has reported that it does not plan on launching an investigation in response to the claims.

Sandor Guillen of Miami, Florida allegedly killed Kaely Camacho, 13, in a deadly hit-and-run accident last Friday. Guillen, 38, was booked at Miami-Dade County Jail on one count each of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and leaving the scene of a crash involving a death as well as two counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving great bodily injuries. It is not clear whether Guillen has qualified for bail bond or has retained a private criminal defense attorney.

The accident reportedly occurred on Southwest 184th Street and the U.S. 1 Busway at approximately 5:00 a.m. on Friday. Guillen was allegedly speeding down the busway in an illegal southbound direction in his 2010 Range Rover when he hit a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country minivan driven by Kirk Camacho, 47, and containing passengers Breean Camacho, 16, and Kaely Camacho, 13. While it is still not clear what caused the accident, police say that Guillen was at fault. "You can see from the damage of the actual mini-van, it's missing the second half; the impact was very severe," said a Miami-Dade Police spokesperson.

Following the crash, Guillen allegedly fled the scene of the accident on foot. He was apprehended soon after and hospitalized before being taken to prison. The arrest report indicates that he smelled strongly of alcohol and was behaving inebriated at the time of his arrest. He also reportedly told officials that he had been at a gathering, where he was drinking with friends shortly before the accident.

A service station manager who was working nearby reportedly heard the crash and ran over to help. "All of a sudden, we hear 'bang' and a woman screaming. We helped take her out of the van. Her father grabbed her in her arms. He laid down next to the tree in the grass and kept saying, 'don't leave me, don't leave," the witness told the press. All of the minivan's occupants were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital following the car accident.

Kaely died in Jackon Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center a short time after the collision. It is not clear whether she or the other occupants of the van were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, though it appears as though no one was ejected from the vehicle. At Southwood Middle School, where Kaely was attending eighth grade, classmates wore blue, her favorite color, in her honor yesterday. A group of four of Kaely's best friends showed the press bracelets that Kaely had made for them. "It's not fair, we were inseparable with her for the past four years, it shouldn't happen to her," one of them told a reporter.

Guillen is a physical therapist who lives in Coral Gables, Florida. He has been arrested twice before in the area, although in both cases charges were later dropped. In 2009, Guillen was arrested for battery; a year later, he was arrested again for battery and disorderly conduct. A sample of Guillen's blood from the time of the collision is being tested at a lab to determine whether alcohol was a factor in the crash. A blood alcohol content percentage has not been released.

Miguel Rocafort of Miami, Florida died after a hit-and-run left him with injures that Kendall Regional Medical Center allegedly neglected to treat due to limited insurance funds, according to his widow. Rocafort died on Friday, six days after he was hit by a hit-and-run driver and less than two days after he was discharged from Kendall Regional Medical Center. Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office officials continue to search for the hit-and-run driver; in the meantime, it is unclear whether Flor Graham plans on retaining a personal injury attorney.

According to reports, Miguel Rocafort, 51, was hit at approximately 6:50 a.m. in on Southwest 137th Avenue near Eureka Drive last Saturday. He was reportedly riding his bicycle, a hobby of his, when the accident occurred. The driver, who may have been in a dark-colored Honda, drove off, leaving Rocafort with a serious head injury, fluid buildup in his skill, a broke leg and a fractured vertebrae.

Rocafort was rushed to Kendall Regional Medical Center following the accident. Fire rescue crews reportedly chose to take him there rather than to closer hospitals because Kendall Regional Medical Center has a class-II trauma center.

Flo Graham reported that her husband was treated for two days before the medical center tried to discharge him. Flo Rocafort, who works as a medical assistant at Jackson Memorial Hospital, said that she convinced the staff that her husband was not ready to go home. "They told me the insurance was tightening up," Flor Graham told the press. "I told them he was too seriously injured to go home yet."

However, she says, the hospital discharged Rocafort on Tuesday, despite his condition. "The patient [Miguel Rocafort] arrived at Kendall Regional Medical Center's Emergency Department, was admitted, cared for, and appropriately discharged," commented a Kendall Regional Medical Center spokesperson in response to the allegations. It is not clear how long a hospital stay is typical for the kinds of injuries that Rocafort suffered from.

Flor told the press that Rocafort was in 'extreme pain' when he left the hospital on Tuesday, and that at approximately 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, he started having trouble breathing. He lost consciousness, and Flor explained that she performed CPR and called an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at Baptist Medical Center a short time later.

"He wasn't well. It wasn't like it was a little hit, it was a terrible accident" commented a friend of the couple regarding Rocafort's early release from the hospital. "I think they let him go too soon, way too soon."

Meanwhile, the search for the hit-and-run driver was taken over by the Miami-Dade traffic homicide unit, as it escalated from a hit-and-run with serious injuries to a hit-and-run with a fatality. "We are looking for help from the public," announced a spokesperson. "Anyone who may have seen anything or knows anything about this hit and run is asked to call police." Flor Graham has also expressed that she hopes the driver of the car that hit her husband is apprehended.

Jessica Williams of Palm Springs, Florida allegedly killed Ben Perez, a wheelchair-ridden man, in a car accident on March 23. The 80-year-old, who was reportedly trying to cross the street when the incident occurred, was pronounced dead at Delray Medical Center shortly after the accident. Charges have not been filed pending a car accident investigation by the Palm Beach Sheriff's office. Williams, 22, was not injured in the accident. It is not clear whether she has retained a private criminal defense attorney to fight possible charges.

According to the accident report, the crash occurred at approximately 6:25 p.m. at the intersection of Purdy Lane and Ardell Way. Perez was reportedly sitting in his power chair near the road, attempting to cross Ardell Way. It is not clear what the traffic lights and pedestrian signals indicated at the time of the crash. Traffic was apparently backed up because of rush hour.

Witnesses say that woman driving a 2005 Ford Expedition turned out of a business parking lot and went through a gap in between stopped cars waiting for the light in an attempt to go north on Ardell Way. However Williams, who is from Palm Springs, was unable to see Perez on the sidewalk because of backed up traffic. The front of her vehicle struck Perez, knocking him out of his power chair and to the ground. He later died from his injuries, which are suspected to have included head trauma. It is not known whether Williams has any other traffic accidents on record.

Meanwhile, a man who survived a hit-and-run car accident in Miami apparently responded by fighting off officers who tried to come to his aid. The incident reportedly began at about 5:40 a.m. on Saturday near the 1800 block of Bayshore Drive, when the man, whose name and age have not been released, was hit by a yellow taxi cab. The taxi driver fled the scene without stopping, and police have asked for the public to come forward with relevant information.

According to officers, they received several emergency calls indicating that someone had been hit by a taxi cab in the area. When they responded to the calls, the taxi had fled and the victim of the accident was found was half naked and bleeding in the street. However, when police officers attempted to go to his aid, he allegedly started arguing with the officers for an unknown reason. He then began to physically fight with the officers. The man was eventually subdued, but the fight reportedly involved 10 Miami police officers, all of whom were exposed to the man's blood.

The man, once subdued, was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center for treatment. He injuries were classified as critical. Three police officers also went to the hospital for treatment for injuries received during the fight with the victim. One officer suffered a fractured arm in the altercation.

Tests are underway to make sure that the victim's blood does not contain any communicable diseases. It is not clear whether charges have been filed against him for attacking police officers. Normally, attacking a police officer is a felony violation.

Erik Garcia and Mario Argumedo of Fort Lauderdale, Florida were arrested after Yanelle Lucero, 5, was killed in a hit-and-run car accident on March 19, sources indicate. Garcia, 19, was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, no valid driver license and failure to use due care. Argumedo, also 19, was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, tampering with evidence and allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a vehicle in his possession. It is not clear whether either party has retained a private criminal defense attorney.

According to the police report, 5-year-old Lucero was playing on a battery operated Big Wheel, a tricycle made for younger children, outside of her home in the 100 block of Northwest 67th Street just past 5:00 p.m. when the hit-and-run vehicle appeared, struck her and subsequently fled the scene. It is not clear how fast he was going at the time of the car accident. Garcia, who was driving, reportedly fled the scene on foot immediately after striking the girl; Argumedo got out of the vehicle, picked up Lucero and brought her to her mother before taking off, according to the arrest report.

The little girl's mother started to drive her daughter to the hospital and called 911 on the way there. Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews met her halfway at Sunrise Boulevard and Interstate 95. They transported the girl to Broward General Medical Center. She was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Failure to stop at the scene of the deadly hit-and-run accident is a second-degree felony under Florida law. However, failing to stop at the scene of such accidents is fairly common in Florida. On Saturday in Orlando, 14-year-old Julianne Hobbs died in the hospital after she and a friend were struck by a hit-and-run driver. The incident reportedly took place at around 9:35 p.m. on Spring Garden Avenue near Jeanette Drive.

Hobbs and 14-year-old Rachael Russell were taking a walk when the incident occurred. Russell luckily escaped the incident with minor injuries. Hobbs was flown to Halifax Medical Center with serious injuries. She was pronounced dead soon after.

No description of the driver or the hit-and-run vehicle is available, though a Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson indicated that the car may have sustained damage to its' windshield or front end. She says that the FHP is attempting to determine whether the car accident was intentional. Police have asked members of the public to come forward with any pertinent information.

Meanwhile, police are still searching for a driver who fled the scene of an accident where an elderly woman was run over by a car, then run over by a second car in Fort Lauderdale. 70-year-old Digna Camacho was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. A friend of hers was going to Cuba, and Camacho was walking home from dropping off letters for the friend to take to some of her family members in Cuba.

The accident report states that Camacho was crossing West Davie Boulevard when she was hit by the first vehicle, which pulled over. Then, a Ford F150 crew cab model ran over her. The driver reportedly pulled over, got out of the truck, then got back in his vehicle and drove off.

Francesca Moise, age 7, is presently in a coma after a hit and run accident in North Lauderdale, Florida. The little girl is presently listed in critical condition at Broward General Medical Center. So far, the driver of the car that hit her has not been identified and no arrests have been made. (Photo Credit: Sun-Sentinel and Moise Family)

There is no doubt in my mind that Francesca and her family are entitled to monetary compensation for this accident. The ultimate question concerns whether or not the person who is responsible has the means or insurance needed to pay that compensation.

According to family members,Francesca was hit by a white and black car as she walked her mother, Milly Moise, and siblings along 7300 block of Tam O'Shanter Boulevard. The vehicle is said to have made contact with the girl when it drove up on the grass along the sidewalk she was walking on. According to BSO, the vehicle in question was an Acura Integra which was later found abandoned behind a warehouse.

Milly Moise was seen trying to revive her daughter at the scene of the accident. Another family member, Baresi Moise said, "I am just angry and sad. We are just praying that she might come through."

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