Arrest made in Miami Beach hit and run that injured two teens
MIAMI - An arrest has been made in a Miami Beach hit and run crash that injured two teens.
Miliani Retamoza, 14, and her friends were enjoying a youth night Friday in Miami Beach when they were crossing the intersection of Sheridan Avenue and Pine Tree Drive shortly before 9 p.m. when a car slammed into them.
"I flew onto the windshield and did a backflip or something," Retamoza said. "And then went flying across the road."
Retamoza and her friend, Calvin Thomas, were struck as their friends witnessed the horror.
"I saw him, his entire left side of his face was drenched in blood," said Nicolette Kusich.
"I picked up my friend and I put him on the sidewalk," said Jose Sanches.
Retamoza said the driver got out of her car and yelled at the victims before she took off.
Retamoza and Thomas were rushed to the Ryder Trauma Center, where she was treated for cuts and bruises all over her body. Calvin's injuries were even worse.
"I wake up in the hospital and realize that there's a hole in my face and a hole in my leg," he said. "I honestly thought I passed away at that moment. I thought I was dead."
Tuesday morning, Miami Beach police said they made an arrest in the case.
They said Carolina Arayaortiz, 40, turned herself in Monday night. During questioning, Arayaortiz reportedly confessed to being the driver involved and said she panicked after the crash.
According to police, she said she felt bad for the kids, especially Thomas when she saw the other kids carrying him to the side of the road.
Arayaortiz has been charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury.
