A 19-year-old man was arrested Wednesday following an ATV crash in southwest Miami-Dade that killed his passenger.
The crash was reported at 1:43 a.m. on Jan. 31 in the area of Southwest 136th Street and 208th Avenue.
According to an arrest report from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, R. A, of Miami, was driving the Honda ATV east on 136th Street within Everglades National Park when he failed to see a raised South Florida Water Management Department levee.
Deputies said A struck the levee, causing the ATV to go airborne and then slide several feet along the dirt roadway before hitting a closed metal swing gate.
A’s passenger, Sophia Veronica Nieto, also 19, was transported to Jackson South Medical Center where she died a short time later, authorities said.
According to the arrest report, a deputy who responded to the accident scene noticed that A’s breath smelled strongly of alcohol.
Deputies said blood was drawn from A before he was transported to the hospital, where two other blood draws were taken.
The report states that the first blood draw showed a blood-alcohol content of .136%.
Deputies said A voluntarily surrendered himself Tuesday at MDSO headquarters.
He was subsequently arrested on a charge of DUI manslaughter.
As of Thursday afternoon, A was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $25,000 bond.
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source: local10
