A drunk driving suspect ploughed through a popular Fort Myers taco stand Monday, killing at least four children and injuring nine other people.
Luis Alejando Velasquez Herrera, 20, of Fort Myers, was charged with one count of driving under the influence and nine counts of being involved in a DUI crash with property damage or personal injury, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. The incident happened around 11:15 p.m. Monday at the La Mexicana Taco Stand on Palm Beach Boulevard.
Velasquez Herrera is accused of striking the outdoor seating area, which consists of picnic style tables situated beneath the shade of a tent. At least two families were in the area at the time. The children who were killed include a 16-year-old, a 15-year-old, a 9-year-old, and a toddler, 3. The other nine who were injured were taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
In research from Uplift Legal Funding, a lawsuit funding company, ranked U.S. states based off of 2018 road dangers due to deadly crashes. In that data, Florida was ranked among the top three most dangerous U.S. states for driving with 2,915 fatal crashes and over 3,100 deaths.
In 2024, Florida had 2,956 fatal crashes with 3,178 deaths, according to data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Crash Dashboard. As of June 2025, the state had a total of 1,091 fatal crashes and 1,176 deaths.
With nearly five decades of personal injury experience, the attorneys at Leesfield & Partners understand all too well how dangerous the roads can be — and how that danger is only magnified when drivers are distracted or impaired.
Leesfield & Partners
From broken bones and surgical sprains to traumatic injuries affecting cognitive function, the attorneys at Leesfield & Partners have guided injured clients and grieving families through their most difficult times. Our skilled legal team works tirelessly to achieve the best possible outcomes — and has consistently done so. The firm has secured numerous record-breaking and historic verdicts and settlements across the state.
In a case that was the fourth largest in the state and the largest in Miami-Dade County, where Leesfield & Partners has one of three Florida offices, a $95 million verdict was obtained for a grieving family. In that instance, a family’s life was forever changed when their daughter was killed and son was severely injured by a negligent drunk driver. The family was on their way to drop off their daughter, 23, at her medical school’s orientation. Their son, 21, now requires a wheelchair and round-the-clock care.
The driver in this case was speeding down the wrong side of I-95 when he hit the family’s car in a head-on collision. A jury awarded $57 million to the son and $38 million to the parents, concluding a legal battle with multiple defendants. At least two defendants settled with our clients before trial.
“The result in this case shows what hard work and creative lawyering can do for clients with devastating injuries,” said Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner. “Along with co-counsel Aaron Davis, we are happy to settle with two defendants and to obtain this record verdict for them.”
Previous Cases
Previously, Justin B. Shapiro, a Partner at the firm, represented a family in a wrongful death motor vehicle case involving a pedestrian. A verdict of over $36 million was obtained for the family in that case.
In a motor vehicle accident involving negligent road construction, Leesfield & Partners attorneys obtained over $29 million for the injured clients.
Mr. Leesfield obtained a $19.8 million verdict against Honda in a design defect case involving a motorcycle kickstand. In that case, our client was in the middle of a ride when the kickstand deployed and caused his motorcycle to spin out of control. He was paralyzed as the result of this violent collision.
This was the start of litigation against multiple manufacturers involving the same dangerous design defect handled by Mr. Leesfield on behalf of injured clients.
A $15.4 million recovery was obtained for a Fort Lauderdale handyman who was injured as a backseat passenger in a high-speed motor vehicle accident. The man in that case was in a car that was stopped at a drawbridge when another car hit it from behind, causing skull fractures, frontal lobe brain damage and facial fractures.
As a result of his injuries, our client developed a seizure disorder that could not be controlled by medication. This ended the then-22-year-old’s career as a handyman in the area.
Leesfield & Partners previously represented the families of three teenage girls after they were struck by a commercial truck driver making an illegal U-turn on the turnpike. The girls in that case were on their way to the library when the driver turned directly into their path. Tragically, one girl was killed and the other two sustained serious injuries.
Our attorneys worked tirelessly to settle the case for over $8.6 million for the families. The firm also obtained an over $7.6 million arbitration award for the family who lost their daughter.
In the case of a woman who was walking back to her office following a midday break, Mr. Shapiro secured the maximum recoverable amount set forth in the defendant’s insurance policy limits. The woman was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk when a pickup truck driver made an illegal left turn, claiming to not have seen her. Injuries to our client included skull fractures and brain hemorrhages in addition to injuries to her left leg.
A $6 million settlement was secured for the client in that case.
In another pedestrian-involved case, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $2.9 million recovery our client who was injured due to a driver’s negligence.
The firm settled a pedestrian case in which our client was hit while walking on the sidewalk by a driver who was distracted by a cellphone. That case was resolved with a $1.5 million settlement.
In a tragic, fatal pedestrian case, Leesfield & Partners secured over $1.3 million for a driver’s negligence.
A child who was crossing the street suffered a traumatic brain injury after a driver hit him. In that case, Leesfield & Partners secured a $1.2 million settlement for the Fort Lauderdale family.