MEDLEY, Fla. – An investigation is underway following a fatal crash Monday morning on the Palmetto Expressway in Medley.
According to FHP Lt. Alex Camacho, at around 1 a.m., a white Mercedes-Benz SUV was traveling north in the southbound lanes of the highway, near Okeechobee Road when it collided head-on with a white Dodge SUV that was heading south.
Camacho said the collision caused the Mercedes to overturn.
A man who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Mercedes was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Mercedes and the driver of the Dodge were both transported to local hospitals with serious injuries, Camacho said.
“Someone pulled my brother out of the vehicle -- that was the only phone call he was able to make to my mom,” Bianca Nieves said. “He had to have surgery, and he has a lot of fractures, he had internal bleeding. He is just there recovering right now.”
Nieves’ brother, Alex Nieves, 33, better known as Junior, was the driver of the Dodge.
“The white Mercedes was traveling against traffic in the opposite direction,” Camacho said.
The driver of the other car, Junior, was taken to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where he is recovering after the wrong-way crash.
“He was in a lot of pain,” Bianca Nieves said. “He kept saying, ‘I’m bleeding out, I’m bleeding out.’ They were checking him. He had blood coming out from his face.”
Junior also has a fracture in his arm and needs to undergo another surgery.
He is currently listed in critical condition.
The driver of the Mercedes was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center and is also listed in critical condition.
“The passenger of the Mercedes was ejected from the vehicle. After it overturned, that individual – the passenger -- was pronounced deceased at the scene,” Camacho said.
Junior, meanwhile, has a very long road to recovery.
“I think this is nothing less than a miracle -- a head-on collision like that, for him to be here. This is a miracle,” Junior’s cousin, Cindy Seijo, said.
Junior’s loved ones have created a GoFundMe page to assist with medical expenses and recovery costs.
