Deadly 24 hours leaves 10 dead in Miami car accidents

Car accidents took the lives of 10 people in 24 hours in South Florida, according to a recent story by the Miami Herald.

The paper reported that the car accidents took place during a 24-hour period from late Saturday, March 1, through Sunday evening, March 2. In addition to the 10 people killed, an unborn baby was also a victim in the car accidents.

The worst of the accidents took place on the Gratigny Expressway in Northwest Miami-Dade early March 2. In what the newspaper described as a fiery head-on collision, four people died.

Car accidents in Broward County took the lives of a woman who was seven months pregnant, a 5-year-old girl was hit by a car as she played outside her home in her own toy car, a 14-year-old skateboarder and an elderly churchgoer, according to the Herald reports.

In the Homestead area, two people–including a passerby who stopped to help–were killed while changing a tire on the side of the Florida Turnpike. A car veered onto the shoulder and struck the victims. The car then fled the scene. Police told the Miami Herald that the search for the driver is continuing.

The car accident on the Gratigny Expressway took place near 5 a.m. when a car and an SUV collided head-on in the westbound lanes. Three passengers in one of the vehicles and the driver of the other were trapped in their vehicles when their cars burst into flames.

This 24-hour period was an unusual one. But the 10 deaths do serve as a grim reminder of how important it is for motorists to drive safely as they travel the nation’s highways and side streets.

Source: The Miami Herald, “10 people killed in 24 hours in South Florida car accidents,” Christina Veiga, March 18, 2012