SWEETWATER, Fla. — Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested a man on a DUI manslaughter charge on Wednesday in connection with a deadly July crash in Sweetwater.

The wreck happened just before 11:30 p.m. on July 31 at the intersection of Northwest 25th Street and 107th Avenue.

Investigators said Juan Diego Plata, 20, of Doral, had two passengers in his vehicle as he tried to make an unprotected left turn onto 107th Avenue in his Ford Mustang Mach-E at a green light.

Deputies said he turned into the path of a Ford Excursion that had the right-of-way. All three people inside the Mustang Mach-E, including Plata, were taken to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital.

The rear passenger, identified as Alejandro Ruiz, died of several severe injuries on Aug. 8, deputies said.

Meanwhile, authorities said a Doral police officer “observed signs of impairment” from Plata, including “watery eyes and a strong odor of (an) alcoholic beverage.”

They said Plata would claim “he did not consume any alcohol prior to the traffic crash but did smoke marijuana a day prior.”

A blood draw taken about four-and-a-half hours after the crash put Plata’s blood alcohol content at 0.06%, according to an MDSO arrest report.

The report notes that while that figure is under the legal limit, the amount of time elapsed caused his BAC to decrease from the time of the crash.

“The totality of evidence in this case demonstrates that the subject drove the vehicle while intoxicated,” deputies concluded. “His decision to drive (in such an) intoxicated state showed a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of the passengers inside his vehicle and others who were on the roadway at the time of the collision.”

As of Thursday morning, Plata, identified in his arrest report as a Colombian national, was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $15,000 bond. If released, he’ll have to submit to house arrest.

Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.