Miami-Dade

Miami Gardens

Driver who hit people waiting at Miami Gardens bus stop identified

 

dmoskovitz@MiamiHerald.com

Police identified Thursday the driver who slammed into a bus bench in Miami Gardens, killing one woman and hurting four more.

Mark Derefaka, 29, was behind the wheel of a white vehicle Tuesday afternoon that, according to witnesses, tried to avoid hitting another car near Northwest 199th Street and Second Avenue but ended up going onto the sidewalk, where people were waiting for a bus.

The crashed killed 83-year-old Mary Smith. Family told Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS4 that Smith was on her way to a Bible study when it happened. She died just a few weeks after her birthday.

Also hurt were Delia Tafur, 43, Wendy Vasquez, 44, Eric Quinn, 16 and Tahjai Zacca-Guerra, 16, according to Miami Gardens police. All were taken to either Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami or Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood for treatment.

Tafur and Vasquez were in critical condition; the teenage boys were stable.

Derefaka wasn’t hospitalized. He has not been charged as police say they are still investigating what happened.

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