Deadly Wrong-Way Wreck On The Palmetto Expressway In Miami Gardens
MIAMI GARDENS (CBSMiami) – The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly wrong-way wreck in Miami Gardens.
The accident happened at approximately 2:30 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of State Road 826 in the area of NW 47 Ave.
"It's crazy man. I really did not want to hear about this so early in the morning," said Kishone Niles.
Niles, who didn't want to show all of his face, told CBS4's Peter D'Oench his 23-year-old cousin Joshua Harrigan was fortunate to survive the accident that took the life of 28-year-old Amelia Costa Thompson, a bartender from Hialeah.
"Thank God. This could have gone another way," he said.
Surveillance tape from a nearby business shows the seconds after the crash.
FHP said Thompson was driving the wrong way, westbound in the eastbound lanes, when her Mazda hatchback hit Harrigan's Dodge pickup truck head on.
"He just told me his car, his truck flipped over a few times," Niles explained.
Thompson was pronounced dead on the scene. Harrigan was rushed to the Ryder Trauma Center.
"He broke his leg. He fractured his knee. He broke his left leg," Niles said.
Niles said his cousin, a student at Broward College, was headed home from work near Miami International Airport and had called him for help before the accident.
"He had a flat tire so he called me to bring his jack for him. I brought him the jack and jumped on the highway. I seen him from behind and said, 'Where is he?'"
Niles lost contact with his cousin and did not find out about this accident until he got home.
He was alarmed to discover that FHP said Thompson was going the wrong way.
"It's sad to see a person die from their injuries. I wish it wouldn't have happened but it is beyond my control. I wish they hadn't of been in that situation," he said.
The striking site of the accident prompted him to give this message.
"Just be careful, you know. Don't drink too much out there and be safe out there. Have somebody who will drive you home or call Uber or something," he said.
He hopes witnesses will come forward.
FHP has not said what led up to this accident and why Thompson was going the wrong way.
