Man crashes car, which explodes, on busy Hialeah highway. Police looking for him
A driver crashed into multiple palm trees along East Okeechobee Road early Wednesday, sparking a car fire before fleeing the scene on foot, Hialeah police said.
The driver was traveling west when his white Honda sedan struck palm trees in the center median and stopped near East Okeechobee Road and Southeast First Avenue, where it burst into flames, said police. The accident happened around 4 a.m.
There were no passengers and no reported injuries, officials said. Police are looking for the driver.
The westbound lanes of U.S. 27 were closed and traffic was rerouted until about 5:30 a.m. when crews removed the fire-damaged Honda from the pedestrian crossing that links Hialeah and Miami Springs. The crossing’s entrance is dotted with State of Florida memorial markers placed to promote safety after a fatal crash.
This stretch of U.S. 27 carries about 65,500 vehicles a day, Florida Department of Transportation data shows.
Officers determined the driver was at fault, police said. The driver refused medical treatment and later fled while officers and fire rescue were investigating.
“While officers were doing their investigation he [driver] was asked to sit in a safe place due to it being a heavy traffic area,” Hialeah Police PIO Scarlette Hernandez told the Herald. “He fled on foot after giving officers his information. It is being handled as a hit and run.”
Police did not release the driver’s identity.
Anyone with information about the driver or the crash is asked to contact the Hialeah Police Department at 305-687-2525.
