PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – A Hollywood man has died after his pickup truck plunged into a canal Wednesday in Pembroke Pines, authorities said.
Sgt. John Baker, a spokesman for the Pembroke Pines Police Department, said Michael Almeida, 48, was driving west just before 2 p.m. on Taft Street near Northwest 91st Avenue when his Chevrolet Silverado rear-ended a Saturn Ion. The collision sent Almeida's Silverado speeding through a guardrail and into the canal, Baker said.
The pickup landed upside down and was almost fully submerged in the water just minutes after the crash.
The crash also sent the Saturn into the eastbound lanes of Taft Street, but the Saturn's driver was unhurt, Baker said.
Multiple witnesses told police that Almeida was driving erratically.
First responders were able to pull Almeida from the water, Baker said. He was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital in Pembroke Pines, but he later died of his injuries.
Baker said the crash remains an active investigation.