Family Mourns Elderly Driver Killed In Crash With Officer
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A candlelight vigil was held Saturday night for the 71-year-old man killed after a City of Miami Police officer crashed into him.
The accident happened off of Southwest 12th Avenue and Southwest 7th street in Miami.
Ramon Bueno's daughter says her dad was a happy-go-lucky man. At 71, he loved life and helping others.
For his family, losing him before Father's Day is devastating.
"Tomorrow is Father's Day," said Daimy Bueno, the victim's daughter. "We no longer have Father's Day. For me it's done. It's gone."
The crash happened at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday. Police say the officer, whose name has not been released, was in a marked car and responding to a call when the crash happened.
"Officer was responding to a priority car in emergency mode, with lights and sirens, when he came to the intersection," said City of Miami Police Officer Kenia Fallat. "As to what the contributing factors of the crash were, we still don't know."
While police say the officer had lights and sirens on, Bueno's family insist that the officer's lights weren't on.
Security video from a cafe near the crash shows the accident from two different angles.
The first angle shows a patrol car with lights and sirens go by, a second patrol car follows and then the crash. The patrol car and Bueno's Honda slide across the intersection.
The second angle shows the police car crashing into a third vehicle stopped at the red light.
"No lights. Looks like no lights," said Daimy. "I'm not an expert but the difference between the first one and the second one, no lights."
The family says while nothing will replace their father, they demand justice.
"He's not here," she said. "I don't care about anything else. Obviously they're going to do an investigation. We will find out. If I have to do something, I will have to do it, of course. But as of now, the only thing I have is pain."
The officer was taken to Mercy hospital for non-life threatening injuries and was later released.
The occupants of the third car that was parked at the red light suffered minor injuries. The driver was treated at the scene.