Miami-Dade police make arrest in deadly Thanksgiving hit-and-run near Miami airport
Miami-Dade police arrested a man who they say was behind the wheel during a deadly hit-and-run near Miami International Airport on Thanksgiving day.
Gerson Jean, a 36-year-old ramp worker at MIA, was driving his 2021 gray Kia K5 sedan shortly before 4 a.m. on Nov. 28 when he hit a man who was walking eastbound on the Central Boulevard Expressway.
Miami airport’s closed caption television cameras filmed the incident and photographed the car’s license plate, which police say is registered to Jean, of Lauderhill.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue paramedics transported the man, who was not named in the report, to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where police say he died the next day.
Last Wednesday, police located the Kia at a Lauderhill body shop that was being repaired for “damage consistent with striking a pedestrian,” the report states.
Two days later, Jean went back to the repair shop, where Miami-Dade detectives took him into custody, per the report.
Jean has several traffic infractions in Broward County, ranging from driving with a suspended license without his knowledge, failure to stop at a red light and making an illegal U-turn, according to the Broward County Clerk of the Court website.
As of Monday, Jean is being held with bond yet to be set at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on charges of leaving the scene of a fatal car crash and evidence tampering.
He is being represented by an attorney with the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s Office, who did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
