Cooper City man, three family members among 5 killed in I-95 wrong-way crash

A Cooper City man and three relatives who were in South Florida to celebrate the New Year were all killed Wednesday when his Hyundai Sonata was struck in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 95 in Miami-Dade.

A tragic series of collisions began when Alexandra Lefler, 23, from California drove a white Ford pickup south in the northbound express lane of the interstate, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Three sedans — a Chevrolet Cobalt, the Hyundai Sonata and a Kia Optima — were traveling north toward the Ford near the Miami Gardens Drive exit around 12:48 a.m.

The Ford collided with the right rear of the Chevrolet, which struck the median concrete wall.

The Ford then crashed head-on with the Hyundai. The Ford’s driver and all four people in the Hyundai were all declared dead at the scene, Trooper Joe Sanchez said in a press release.

The Kia struck the rear of the Hyundai. The Kia then left the express lane and collided with the left side of a Ford tow truck that was driving north.

The Chevrolet’s driver, Katherine Warsch, 27, of Hollywood, and Nameer Khattab, 58, of Dania Beach, who drove the Kia, had minor injuries, the Patrol said.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue took Warsch to Jackson Memorial Hospital and drove Khattab to Aventura Hospital & Medical Center.

In the Hyundai were driver Miguel Gil, 47, of Cooper City, and passengers Jose Martin Labrador, 52, and Gisela Gil Egui, 48, both of Bridgeport, Conn. and Gisela Margarita Egui Hernandez, 71, of Venezuela, the Patrol said.

A family friend said Gil was on his way home from Miami International Airport after picking up his sister, Egui, and brother-in-law, Labrador.

“They flew in to spend New Year’s together,” said the friend, Veronica Pannini. Hernandez, Gil and Egui’s mother, had previously arrived to spend the holidays in South Florida with her son.

The fifth driver, Joao Gustavo Carabajal, 58, of Coconut Creek who was in the tow truck, was not injured.

Lanes of the interstate were blocked for six hours until the wrecks were hauled away.

As for why the woman in the Ford pickup was traveling toward oncoming traffic, Capt. Sandy Mandell, the Patrol’s Miami-Dade County district commander said, “We don’t know why she drove the wrong way at this stage of the investigation. That’s one of the things we’ll attempt to find.”

He said wrong-way crashes often have “horrific” results.

“If you’re doing 50 mph and other car is traveling the same speed, you have a combined speed of 100 mph,” Mandell said. “It’s devastating.”

Another fatal, head-on crash on I-95 in Miami-Dade County happened earlier this month.

On Dec. 13, a 23-year-old Miami woman was killed as she drove north on I-95 in her Honda Civic. A Toyota Yaris driven by a 24-year-old Miami man was traveling south in the northbound lanes at 5:22 a.m. near the Biscayne Boulevard exit when that deadly collision happened, according to a Patrol report.

Mandell urged drivers to be alert.

“It’s the holiday season,” Mandell said. “I would like everybody to be extra cautious. There is nothing more devastating for troopers than to have to go to someone’s house to say they’ve lost their loved ones.”

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What to do if you see a wrong-way car coming at you?

Capt. Sandy Mandell of the Florida Highway Patrol advises drivers to be prepared by looking at what’s coming down the road.

“You always have to be a defensive driver by being aware of what’s around you, by obeying speed laws, not talking or texting on the cellphone and wearing your seat belt,” Mandell says. “You need to leave proper distance between the car in front of you, so you have enough time to maneuver.”

Wrong-way crashes: By the numbers

The Florida Department of Transportation has collected statistics from wrong-way crash reports written by law enforcement, and found that in the five years from 2009 through 2013, there were 280 such collisions in the state.

Thirty percent of wrong-way crashes had only property damage; 52 percent resulted in injuries, with 411 hurt; and 18 percent of the crashes had fatalities, with 75 dead.

Weekends or early morning hours were the most common times for wrong-way drivers, the department found.

Most of the wrong-way crashes — 61 percent — happened on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Fifty-five percent of all wrong-way crashes and 70 percent of the fatal crashes happened between midnight and 6 a.m., on any day of the week.

Ltrischitta@Tribune.com, 954-356-4233 or Twitter @LindaTrischitta