A 74-year-old Hialeah woman is facing a felony charge after authorities say she drove away from a crash that left a motorcyclist with serious injuries to his arm and left leg after he was ejected from his motorcycle on West 10th Avenue. Maria Contreras was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of a crash, according to authorities.
Investigators say Contreras was driving on West 49th Street when she turned onto West 10th Avenue and collided with the man riding the motorcycle, as reported by NBC 6 South Florida. The impact threw the motorcyclist from his bike, and he suffered injuries to his arm and left leg. The account identifies West 49th Street and West 10th Avenue as the roads involved in the crash.
Rather than stopping to help, Contreras allegedly left the area without rendering aid to the injured man. Hialeah Fire Rescue crews arrived at the scene and transported the victim to nearby Goodlet Park, where he was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Goodlet Park is a 13-acre municipal park at 4200 West 8th Avenue, according to the City of Hialeah.
Airlifted to Miami's Only Level I Trauma Center
The motorcyclist was flown to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
According to the arrest report, Contreras was ultimately found with her vehicle in Miami Gardens. She admitted to being involved in the crash, the report states.
Felony Exposure Under Florida's Hit-and-Run Law
Florida Statute § 316.062 requires any driver involved in a crash causing injury or property damage to remain at the scene, provide identifying information, and render reasonable assistance to injured parties, according to the Brancato Law Firm. Florida law treats leaving the scene of a crash involving personal injury as a felony. The law also distinguishes felony classifications for crashes involving serious bodily injury, per the same source.
The case adds to a troubling pattern across Miami-Dade County, where hit-and-run crashes remain disproportionately common. Preliminary state data cited by the Gallardo Law Firm shows Miami-Dade recorded 10,570 hit-and-run crashes through mid-August, accounting for roughly 32.4% of all traffic accidents reported countywide during that span. The firm notes Miami-Dade accounts for nearly 19% of hit-and-run crashes statewide despite holding just 15% of Florida's total crashes.
The Law Office of Alexander Alvarez also discusses Miami-Dade hit-and-run collisions and motorcycle crashes in 2025. Statewide, Gallardo Law Firm references Florida's 2024 hit-and-run data.
Contreras's arrest follows other recent Hialeah hit-and-run cases Hoodline has covered, including a cyclist left for dead on Okeechobee Road in June and an 84-year-old Hialeah man detained in January in connection with a fatal hit-and-run of a person in a wheelchair. It remains unclear what condition the injured motorcyclist is in following his transfer to Jackson Memorial, and whether toxicology testing was conducted on Contreras.
