Ferguson High students in fatal crash after fleeing cops identified. Girl is critical
UPDATE: Girl in crash dies after life support cut; teen driver killed. Cops say he was fleeing
A 15-year-old boy who was killed early Wednesday morning after crashing the Audi he was driving into a pillar under an overpass of Florida’s Turnpike while Miami-Dade officers were pursuing him, has been identified. The 14-year-old girl who was a passenger in the car remained in critical condition Friday morning, police said.
Anthony Gago, a sophomore at John A. Ferguson Senior High School, 15900 SW 56th St., was the car’s driver killed in the crash, police and his family said.
Anthony’s cousin told the Herald in a Friday email that the family is devastated.
“Anthony was a bright and compassionate young man who will be sorely missed,” his cousin, Danny Garcia said.
The girl in the car, Jazmin Keltz, remained in critical condition Friday after undergoing several surgeries at HCA Florida Kendall Trauma Center, police and the family’s attorney, Michael Feiler, said Friday morning. He said her family is praying for a miracle for the Ferguson High freshman.
No one else was injured in the crash.
“We continue to investigate this matter in hopes of bringing closure,” Feiler said.
Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said Wednesday an officer who spotted the Audi caught up to it and turned on his lights, before the teen crashed into the concrete pillar.
“They were already moving at a high rate of speed,” Zabaleta said.
Police said the Audi matched the description of a “suspicious vehicle” that someone called police about, that was traveling east on Miller Drive near Southwest 123rd Avenue at about 2 a.m.
When police caught up to the Audi and turned on emergency lights, the driver sped up and the crash happened under an overpass on Miller Road at Florida’s Turnpike between Southwest 118th and 117th avenues, according to police.
Zabaleta said investigators had not yet determined how fast the Audi was going and he wasn’t willing to say the officer was chasing the under-aged driver of the vehicle — just that they’d caught up to him and signaled for the Audi to pull over.
The teenage boy, who police say took his mother’s vehicle without permission, died at the scene, Zabaleta said. Jazmin was taken to HCA Florida Kendall Trauma Center.
The department’s Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating the crash, which closed Miller Drive between Southwest 117th and 118th avenues during the morning rush hour.
A GoFundme created to help pay for Jazmin’s medical expenses had raised over $13,000 as of Friday morning. A GoFundMe created to help pay for Anthony’s funeral expenses has raised nearly $9,000.
This story was originally published November 8, 2023 at 4:22 PM.
