Surveillance video shows possible vehicle that killed toddler in hit-and-run crash

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Newly obtained surveillance video will hopefully bring Miami-Dade police one step closer to finding the driver who struck a family last week in northwest Miami-Dade, killing a 2-year-old girl.

The victim’s own father sent Local 10 News the surveillance video.

While the footage is grainy, it appears to show at least two different vehicles driving through the area during the time the crash took place.

The hit-and-run was reported Wednesday night along Northwest 12th Avenue and 116th Terrace in Miami-Dade’s Pinewood neighborhood.

Police say the driver of the car hit a 2-year-old girl named Maritza and her parents as they were crossing the street.

Maritza Cherident. (Photo courtesy of Cherident family.)

The driver then sped off.

Paramedics rushed all three victims to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where the little girl later died.

Maritza’s mother and father were injured, but survived the crash.

Local 10 spoke to her father following his release from the hospital. Her mother was discharged Sunday night.

Her injuries are so severe she still has trouble talking and was given liquid food so that she could eat.

The father believes the first car seen in the video is the one that killed his daughter. He told Local 10 News that he thinks the driver of a white van that is seen later in the footage saw the crash and was trying to follow the car after the impact.

The family is now hoping this new video will help detectives find the driver responsible.

Anyone with further information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-8477.

A GoFundMe page has been created to assist the family with Maritza’s funeral expenses.


About the Authors:

Trent Kelly is an award-winning multimedia journalist who joined the Local 10 News team in June 2018. Trent is no stranger to Florida. Born in Tampa, he attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he graduated with honors from the UF College of Journalism and Communications.

Reporter Rosh Lowe has been covering news for nearly two decades in South Florida. He joined Local 10 in 2021.