South Dade Senior High principal struck by car while coaching baseball team

KENDALL, Fla. – The principal of South Dade Senior High School was struck by a car Tuesday evening while coaching a Little League baseball team.

The incident was reported just before 6:30 p.m. near batting cages at a park in the 2300 block of Southwest 117th Avenue.

Miami-Dade police spokeswoman Robin Pinkard said the driver of a GMC Envoy, Marilyn Aguilera, 51, lost control of her vehicle and struck a chain link fence and Javier Perez, 43.

"This is really shocking the way it happened here," Perez's friend, Jorge Diaz, said. "The (car) came barreling out of nowhere, unexpected and Javi, unfortunately, was in the way and you know, it could have been a kid or two. God knows."

Diaz said Perez was on the field coaching his 5-year-old son's team when the incident happened.

He was taken by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to Kendall Regional Medical Center in critical condition.

"Javier is out of surgery and stable," a tweet from the school said. "Please continue to pray as he will have challenges ahead."

Miami-Dade County Public Schools superintendent Alberto Carvalho said he is confident that Perez will make a full recovery.

"This is a very strong individual who is much beloved in the South Dade community," Carvalho said. "We continue to have him in our prayers and we know that he will bounce back."

Perez's friends told Local 10 News that he has injuries to his lower body.

Authorities said the driver stayed at the scene and no citation has been issued pending further investigation.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help Perez's family with his medical expenses.