APRIL 8, 2015
MIAMI LAKES, FLA. (WSVN)
Authorities are investigating after three people were killed
in a car crash Wednesday morning in a residential neighborhood.
The crash happened along Miami Lakes Drive and North Miami
Lakeway Road, just after 1 a.m., Wednesday. "After midnight I heard like a
bomb go off," said Jarimie Walker, who lives in the neighborhood.
Investigators said a Nissan Altima carrying three passengers
was heading westbound on Miami Lakes Drive when it crashed into a barrier wall.
Two women in their 30s and a man in his 40s died on scene. "We got out
here and three of them were not responding," said Walker, "so we
tried to do what we could do, but it was a little too late."
The driver has since been identified as 31-year-old Gesenia
Llorentis, a divorced single mother. Her close friend, Mari Gorday, arrived at
the scene of the crash Wednesday afternoon. "No matter if life is hard,
she was always smiling.
Always," she said of her friend. "A single
mother of a beautiful child. She was with him all the time. She's a great
mother."
Gary Herlth has lived near the intersection for 25 years. He
said that particular wall has received quite a beating over the years. "It
is unfortunate," said Herlth. "It's just a bad intersection, people
just fly around."
Others who knew Llorentis returned to the scene, Wednesday,
and said they needed to witness it with their own eyes. Many of them
heartbroken and in disbelief. "I'm still in shock. I'm extremely hurt
inside," said Gorday as she held back tears.
"She was always happy and always full of life and
she'll make the best out of any situation," said longtime friend Miguel
Vazquez.
The speed limit in the area is 25 miles per hour, but Herlth
said, drivers never seem to pay attention. "The speed limit has been
posted a lot of years, but it hasn't stopped anybody," he noted.
Detectives said speed may have played a role in the crash.
"We need to encourage the community to slow down, obey the laws of the
road," said Miami-Dade Police Detective Romelio Martinez. "Obviously,
these are somebody's kids, they may be a parent, they may be mothers and
fathers. Families are going to be impacted. This is going to be a tragedy for
at least four families today."
"Tragic. Just tragic," said Walker. "My heart
goes out to the families."
The identities of the man and the second woman have not yet
been released.
In addition to speed, the driver may have been under the
influence of alcohol as well, as they had just left a nearby restaurant.