A tragic scene unfolded early Friday on Miami's Interstate 95 as two three-year-old twins were found dead in a car and their mother critically injured after jumping onto train tracks, authorities said. Family members identified the twins, Milinddjy and Milender, and their mother, Shirlene N. Alcime, 42, who was found to have jumped as police arrived, according to MEAWW.
Responding to a call for a medical emergency around 2 a.m. near I-95 northbound and the Florida Turnpike extension, police discovered the twins inside a vehicle, the Miami-Dade Police Department said. Simultaneously, Alcime, identified as a driver, leaped from the overpass onto the Tri-Rail tracks below. Officials believe the act was a suicide attempt. "That adult female went over the railing to the on-ramp onto the railroad tracks, which is a considerable distance," Miami-Dade Police Detective Andre Martin detailed in a statement obtained by MEAWW.
The children were pronounced dead at a local hospital while Alcime was taken to Aventura Hospital in a critical condition. The investigation is ongoing, and the medical examiner will determine the cause of death for the twins, as per officials. The father of the twins, Milson Cadet, who lives with the family but is not married to Alcime, expressed his confusion and distress to NBC Miami, saying through a translator, "For me, I don't really know what happened. ... I don't know about what happened today, why my kids passed away."
Alcime, a local business owner, has faced several eviction cases in the last two years, including an unsettled case against a business location, as per MEAWW. Neighbors described her as "a very very good neighbor, a good person who helped everybody," a sentiment echoed in a neighbor interview with NBC Miami. It's unknown if her financial struggles contributed to the tragedy.
