Fatal Accident on Palmetto Claims Life of 40 year old man

Jose Diaz was involved in a fatal crash on the Palmetto Expressway December 3, 2010, while he was performing mechanical repairs under a car parked on the east side of the Palmetto just north of Northwest 103rd Street.

Mr. Diaz’ car broke down and he was trying to repair it when a van crashed into his car. The car was parked partially over the painted median because the road has no shoulder. The van was being driven by Luis Antonio Roque, 32, of Miami, who was not injured.

FHP Lt. Alex Annunziato told The Miami Herald that Diaz was lying on a dolly under the car, which had been raised with a jack when his vehicle was struck. Annunziato also said that Roque drove the minivan up the ramp and over the painted median, hitting Diaz’s car, and knocking it off the jack. The vehicle then landed on Diaz.

As a Miami Car Accident Lawyer I have noticed a significant increase in accidents that occur when stranded motorist are trying to repair their vehicles. The reasons are many, but most accidents have some common characteristics.

First and foremost the Palmetto expressway and I95 are some of the deadliest roads in the country. Using NHTSA numbers, the Daily Beast website found that the 382-mile stretch of I-95 in the state of Florida is the deadliest roadway in the United States. To that end, I-95’s fatal car accident rate was 1.73 deadly accidents per mile in Florida from 2004-2008.

The roads are so deadly because there is simply not enough lanes, and the amount of distracted drivers occupying those limited lanes lanes. The shortage of lanes, have essentially removed emergency lanes and/or shoulders from these roadways. Thus, if you have mechanical problems, there is simply no safe place to pull-over.