A fatal collision tore through the tranquility of a Miami-Dade County intersection on Dec. 10, when a Jeep Cherokee piloted by a heavily intoxicated 24-year-old man ran a stop sign, killing a 45-year-old victim, as reported by Local 10 News.
Malik Sands, the driver, had a blood-alcohol content (BAC) registering a staggering .328% — over four times the state's legal limit of .08%. His arrest warrant details him to have been careening toward the intersection of Northwest 188 Street and Fifth Avenue "with the accelerator fully pressed", in Miami Gardens. Police allege Sands was manifestly unable to safely operate the vehicle, as captured in the warrant which noted his "slurred" speech and "bloodshot and glassy" eyes.
According to the same Local 10 News report, the calamity claimed the life of Wiljames St. Hilaire, the cause of death was blunt force trauma inflicted by the crash. In the wake of this event, Miami Gardens police used surveillance footage and the Jeep's event data recorder to piece together the fatal scene. It surfaced that Sands was already flouting the law by driving without a valid license — he "had never obtained a Florida driver's license" and his driving privileges had been previously suspended due to prior violations.
Sands now faces multiple charges, including vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter. In a disheartening twist to this story, the community's safety was again compromised when a car collided with a Miami-Dade Transit bus, killing one and hospitalizing three others, as WSVN reported on Jan. 8.
