Driver in deadly South Beach restaurant crash likely won’t face criminal charges, cops say
The 75-year-old driver who crashed into a crowded Miami Beach sidewalk cafe where a man died and eight others were injured will likely not face criminal charges, according to authorities.
Miami Beach Police spokesperson Ernesto Rodriguez on Monday told the Miami Herald there were no signs that the driver was impaired.
This comes as authorities provided new details about the dinnertime crash Thursday night that police say was the result of a failed parallel parking attempt in front of Call Me Gaby, 22 Washington Ave. Additionally, the names of those involved were released.
Regitze Tauber Gamble, of Pinecrest, “suddenly accelerated in reverse,” drove over a curb, hit a parked Toyota Rav4, before striking a table with five diners and nearby pedestrians, a traffic report reveals. Gamble’s beige 1990 Bentley Turbo R then took down a traffic sign and hit a tree before coming to a rest.
After the crash, restaurant workers and patrons sprung into action, lifting the car to help the people trapped underneath.
Gary Prince, a 67-year-old man from Miami Beach, died at Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center. Eight others — two more than originally reported — were injured, according to the report.
Samuel Stern, 78, and Barry Rohrssen, 61, were seriously hurt; Cara Meng, 18, Mirabai Giuffre, 17, Naaman Abdullah, 56, and Ariel Barreras Perez, 44, suffered less serious injuries. Valentina Sapritsky, 71, was also possibly hurt.
And a minor whose name has not been released by police was injured, Rodriguez added, but not badly.
Gamble, who was not injured, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the traffic report, she was operating the car in a “careless or negligent manner.”
Court records show on Friday, June 12, 2015, with the Florida Turnpike entrance from Hollywood Boulevard closed, Gamble tried to enter the turnpike via one of the exit lanes. Fortunately, it was 2:51 a.m., a light traffic time. She was ticketed for driving on the wrong side of a divided highway and paid a $165 fine.
Nine days later, she was ticketed for a DUI in Miami, eventually paid a $1,672.25 fine and had her license revoked.
Rodriguez said the investigation into the Miami Beach crash remains open and that Gamble could be facing traffic citations.
Miami Herald staff writers Devoun Cetoute and David J. Neal contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 9:12 PM.
