Family, friends, and neighbors in Miami Beach’s North Beach neighborhood are grieving the loss of 25-year-old Abraham Fernandez, who was struck and killed while riding a scooter near 79th Street and Byron Avenue on Saturday. Loved ones said he had been called in to work on his day off and was on his way in, just three blocks from his job.
“We are still in that stage that you don’t feel like it happened,” family friend Marta Lorenzo told Local 10. She said Fernandez’s mother is in Spain battling cancer and his father is also struggling with health problems. According to Lorenzo, Fernandez’s father pleaded with doctors for more time before he finally agreed to remove his son from life support. Fernandez’s girlfriend, Kara Barjadi, told the station she had kissed him goodbye and urged him to be careful only minutes before the crash.
Family fundraiser and investigation details
A GoFundMe organized by a family friend is collecting donations to cover funeral and related expenses. The page has raised more than $14,000 toward a $20,000 goal, according to GoFundMe. In an update on the fundraiser, the organizer said detectives informed the family that the crash was not a hit-and-run; investigators told them the driver stayed at the scene, appeared to be about 25 years old, was in a rental car, and had run a stop sign, per GoFundMe. Organizers also asked for privacy while the family plans services and manages their affairs.
Legal context
Under Florida law, people riding scooters are classified as “vulnerable road users,” and drivers involved in crashes that result in a death must remain at the scene. Leaving the scene can bring felony charges, according to the Florida Legislature. Local coverage had not reported any criminal charges in connection with the crash, and it was not immediately known whether the driver would face prosecution, per Local 10.
Neighbors remember him
Relatives and friends described Fernandez as a devoted son and musician who loved to cook for his father and write music, details that are also shared on the family’s fundraiser page on GoFundMe. Loved ones gathered at the intersection where the crash occurred, mourning together while others worked behind the scenes to coordinate arrangements and support for his father in Spain, per GoFundMe.
Neighbors and coworkers have begun rallying around the family, and the online fundraiser remains open as investigators continue to review the collision. The family has asked for privacy while they navigate the days ahead and finalize arrangements.
