2 pushing disabled car in Miramar struck, killed by another car

Friends and family of the two teens who were killed while pushing a friend’s disabled car said Monday they were always trying to help others.

Jonah Mosaphir and his girlfriend, Gabrielle Camps, both 19, were killed early Monday when an SUV slammed into them while they were pushing a friend’s stalled BMW in Miramar.

The accident happened around 1 a.m. on Pembroke Road near Dykes Road.

Another friend, Justin Molina, 18, and Gregory Vasquez, 21, a Good Samaritan who saw the group while he was driving, also helped push the car.

The BMW driver, Giovanni Martinez, was airlifted to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. His condition was not known.

Molina and Vasquez were not injured. According to Molina’s father, Raul Molina, his son had stepped away from the car to take off his shirt. His sandal fell off and as he reached to grab it, the SUV struck the BMW, missing him but hitting Camps and then Mosaphir.

“When I got [to the scene], I saw my son and he ran up to me. I was relieved he was OK, but then my concern turned toward his friend,” Raul Molina said.

Miramar police spokeswoman Tania Rues said the driver of the SUV, Asia Valentine, 23, told police she didn’t see the BMW and the group pushing it. Valentine remained on the scene and is cooperating with police, Rues said.

It is unclear whether the BMW had its hazard lights or headlights on; police are investigating.

Raul Molina said his son and Mosaphir became friends in elementary school while attending St. John the Apostle Catholic School in Hialeah. The boys graduated from Westland Hialeah Senior High, and were both enrolled at Miami Dade College. Mosaphir was a rising sophomore studying business administration.

Raul Molina said his son, Mosaphir and Camps would often hang out at Mosaphir’s house, where they were when Martinez called them for help.

“Justin spent more time with Jonah than he did with me ... than he did in his own house,” Molina said.

Molina describes his son’s friend as the type of person who would help anyone with anything.

“I remember not that long ago in June, I was moving,” Molina said. “[Mosaphir] went to pick up my son to go out, and he decided to stay there to help me move before going out with my son.”

Camps was also a student at Miami Dade College studying social work and taking summer courses in biology and speech. She was working for an attorney for the summer.

Lauren Tejera, Camps’ older sister by 13 years, said Camps was a bubbly, happy person and an amazing aunt.

“She loved my children like her own,” Tejera said. “She was always willing to help. She was a great kid.”

Tejera said her sister also loved to write and express herself.

Tejera said Camps and Mosaphir had a great relationship, which began on social media after a mutual friend introduced the two.

“He was very supportive of her, and she of him,” Tejera said. “At one point, they thought about getting married, but wanted to get their lives together first and travel.”

Lauren Kellner, a managing director of Breakthrough Miami, an academic enrichment program for middle and high school students, said Camps participated in Breakthrough until she graduated from the Academy of Arts and Minds Charter High School in Coconut Grove in 2014.

“She was so excited to start a new chapter in her life,” said Kellner, who described Camps as the “sweetest girl.”

“It’s just kind of mind-blowing — knowing that she had her whole future ahead of her and not being able to see the amazing things she would have accomplished.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 6:09 AM with the headline "2 pushing disabled car in Miramar struck, killed by another car."