BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — It has been a difficult and gut-wrenching two years for Donald Francis.
“When I cook, when I go to bed at night, Geraldine took care of all of it — all of the cooking, paying the bills,” Francis said.
On Aug. 11, 2024, his wife, Geraldine, and his daughter, Lisa Jackson, were in South Florida from Bermuda to drop off his granddaughter, Kumani Jackson, at college when tragedy struck.
They were at the intersection of Northwest 27th Avenue and Sixth Street in unincorporated Broward when investigators said a speeding 19-year-old Gavin Dorvil slammed into them, killing Geraldine and Lisa.
Kumani suffered a brain injury and was in a coma for two months. She is still recovering to this day.
“Right now, you talk to her and she can’t remember what she did the prior day,” Francis said. “She’s progressed a lot since the hospital days. She could walk, and she could talk. She goes to therapy every day.”
The family hired Josiah Graham, of Graham Injury Firm in Fort Lauderdale, and filed a lawsuit against Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony.
“We allege that the Broward Sheriff’s Office was negligent in initiating and continuing this pursuit and that its actions contributed to the deaths of Geraldine Francis, Lisa Jackson, and the catastrophic injuries suffered by Kumani,” Graham said.
Graham shared surveillance video from a gas station showing the Tesla speeding and the BSO SUV and cruiser following behind seconds before the crash.
Deputies said Dorvil, of Lauderdale Lakes, was going more than 90 mph and ran a red light before crashing into the victims’ SUV.
Following the deadly crash, the Broward Sheriff’s Office initiated an internal affairs investigation. According to the report, deputies Mark Sugg and Nicholas Marciante saw Dorvil driving a white Tesla recklessly. They tried to get close enough to conduct a traffic stop. Video from the Tesla shows the patrol cruiser behind it.
Following the conclusion of the investigation, both deputies acknowledged they should have stopped after the driver failed to yield to a traffic stop, violating discretion policy.
While the discretion policy was violated, the pursuit policy was not. Both deputies were given disciplinary suspensions without pay.
Dorvil is still facing a slew of charges, including vehicular homicide.
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