Death-Related Hit & Run Auto Accident in Hialeah

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SOUTH FLORIDA HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT HAS SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES

Recently, Hialeah Police were forced to track down an alleged offender of a hit and run incident which took place at a public bus station. The awful event, which killed one waiting bus passenger and caused injuries to another, occurred outside of a fast food restaurant with patrons inside taking sight of this horrific tragedy. What the Pollo Tropical guests at the 49th Street and 16th Avenue store location witnessed will be embedded in their minds for a very long time. After the victim was struck while at the bus stop, his body was flung through the restaurant’s drive through. The store location immediately closed the facility due to the circumstances.

What has surfaced through reports is that the alleged offender, Henry Paz, fled the scene following the impact with the two victims. Witnesses claim that the vehicle that the suspect was driving, a Toyota Camry had a flat tire and he was driving away on the rim. During the investigation by the Hialeah Police Department, an officer responded to a nearby call of a person in need of a tow truck because of a flat tire within an hour of the hit and run accident. Upon arriving to the tow truck call, which was less than a mile away from the unimaginable scene, officers first came in contact with the alleged offender.

After putting the pieces of the puzzle together, officers arrested the suspect for the hit and run accident and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident with a death and serious injury. Statements from Police later indicate that Paz admitted to drinking alcohol prior to entering his vehicle that evening. The charges that the suspect faces may be amplified by the results of the blood alcohol tests that were administered to him following his arrest.

REASONS PEOPLE FLEE THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT

There are many reasons why a person might actually flee the scene of an accident. Some of those reasons include:

• No Driver’s License
• No Proof of PIP Insurance • Impaired Driving • Criminal Warrants
• Stolen Vehicle • Fear of Consequences

HIT AND RUN ACCIDENTS ARE OFTEN FATAL

When a loved one is killed in such a horrific manner, justice is many family members’ number one goal; however, civil litigation many times follows such events as well. Lawsuits for wrongful death are filed when someone has caused a negligent killing of another person. With as much heart ache that is felt by the family of the victim, there can be an equal amount of stress involved with expenses that are generated from the death of their loved one.
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Swimming Pool Accidents In South Florida Can Be Prevented

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The Florida summers bring residents and visitors of the state some of the most perfect weather found across the nation. Though some may consider the humidity to be a deal breaker when it comes to outdoor activities, there is no greater relief from the sun’s rays than a quick dip in the pool. We all remember being young and trying to escape the thick summer air by going to our backyard, or community pool, to engage in all the fun activities associated with swimming pools. Most Floridians are raised to appreciate the dangers that come with being around pools; however, year after year, we are left dealing with horrific tragedies that result from accidents and negligent conduct involving swimming pools. Unfortunately for parents, it is children who suffer the most injuries with regard to our summer heat refuge.

In order to try and protect our children from what many of us may consider being a living nightmare, it is important that we educate kids from an early age on the importance of swimming pool safety. The state legislature has indicated that drowning is the number one cause of death of children in this state, and it should be our number one goal as parents and adults to try and change this fact as best as possible. There is a variety of swim lesson courses available to everyone in every county in Florida. Placing our children in swim classes as soon as possible should be our priority given that we are a state that is surrounded by pools, lakes and oceans.

Some programs, such as ones offered through the YMCAs across the state, provide lessons for children as early as six months old. This may sound extreme to some; however, the harsh reality of losing a child to an accidental drowning has to be the most extreme loss one could suffer. These type of programs get children acclimated to being in water, and provide basic knowledge of treading water and getting to the pools edge until an adult can get to them. The simplest techniques that our children can absorb from an early age may be the difference in saving their lives. Also, being certified in CPR training can help to eliminate the time it may take for rescue services to arrive on scene. When we are knowledgeable on how to treat a child who is not breathing due to drowning, we are taking steps towards reducing the number of deaths attributed to swimming pool accidents.

Additionally, home owners and operators of public and private swimming pool facilities need to follow the strict guidelines put in place for the safety of everyone around pools. Mechanisms used to alert us when children have entered a pool area are available for those who own pools. Placing lockable gates around pools is the obvious preventative measure to keep young children away from the water when supervision is unavailable. The unfortunate reality is that even when we take every precaution to prevent our children from being injured around pools, there are still situations where the negligent conduct of a third party is the cause of the harm. Children will always be attracted to pools. It is our responsibility as adults to do whatever we can to help protect them from those unforeseen and devastating swimming pool accidents.
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Florida Drunk Driving Accidents and the Victims Involved

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Losing a loved one is the hardest thing that a person can go through. When someone you care about is no longer here, the emotions that you go through can be extremely overwhelming. Those emotions are amplified when the person you love has fallen victim to the actions of a drunk driver. In 2011 alone, there were over seven hundred fatalities attributed to drunk driving in the state of Florida. The careless decision made by a person who drinks and drives creates life altering effects for many different people. The legal consequences that a drunk driver will take on, the costs to tax payers to prosecute a drunk driver, and the grief that the family of a victim will be forced to deal with, are all examples of different lives which are effected by drunk driving accidents.

From the day that we first get behind the wheel of an automobile, we are taught that consuming alcohol prior to driving can severely increase our chances of getting into a collision. As a preventative measure to encourage drivers not to drink and drive, promoting the penalties that one can incur from driving impaired, could work to deter a person from driving drunk. When we first receive our Florida Driver’s License, we consented to alcohol testing by law enforcement who believes us to be impaired. Failing to comply with such testing will result in an automatic year suspension of our driving privilege. However, there are harsher penalties involved with failing these alcohol tests conducted by the police, even for a first time offender.

First Time Penalties Associated with DUI

Monetary Penalties Ranging from $250 up to $500
• Possible Community Service Hours • Up to One Year of Criminal Probation
• Jail Time of up to Six Months; Nine Months where a Minor is in the Vehicle • Six Month Minimum Suspension of Driver’s License
• Twelve Hour DUI Safe Driving Course
In Florida, there are over fifty thousand tickets issued annually for DUI penalties. Of those tickets, the State has more than a sixty percent conviction rate, which means that our court system is extremely busy prosecuting DUI offenders. With as many DUI cases as Florida has, you can bet that there is a high cost to state and local expenses in dealing with making sure these drunk drivers receive proper penalties for their crime.

Florida DUI Convictions in 2010 According to DMV Records

• Miami – (Miami-Dade County) – 2,274 • West Palm Beach – (Palm Beach County) – 1,561 • Ft. Lauderdale – (Broward County) – 985 • Tampa – (Hillsborough County) – 3,256 • Jacksonville – (Duval County) – 2,222 • St. Petersburg – (Pinellas County) – 1,824 • Orlando – (Orange County) – 1,383 • Melbourne – (Brevard County) – 1,072
There can be no confusion as to the amount of money that is spent annually on convicting DUI offenders. Though it is an obvious necessity to try and penalize these drivers for their actions, it should remain concerning to us as tax payers that the costs allotted for prosecution of DUIs remains consistently high.
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