Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
The driver who police say crashed into an electric motorcycle carrying two minors, killing one of them, in Northwest Miami-Dade turned himself in, police say.
The incident occurred on Sept. 9 shortly before 9 p.m. when two minors, 10 and 15 years old, were heading south on Northwest Seventh Avenue, according to reporting from The Miami Herald. As they crossed Northwest 117th Street, a vehicle at the intersection attempting to make a left turn to go west crashed into them. Both children were ejected from the motorcycle and the driver allegedly drove off, according to police.
Both children were taken to the hospital in critical condition. The 10-year-old tragically died on Sept. 10. As of Tuesday, Sept. 29, the newspaper reported, the boy remains in critical condition.
Surveillance footage near the scene of the crash allegedly shows the driver getting out of his vehicle to examine the damage before continuing to drive away. Police told reporters they located the vehicle at the driver’s home and that both doors on the passenger’s side and the side mirror had been replaced. DNA swabs taken from the vehicle on Sept. 11 matched the 10-year-old child. Police have not yet found the original parts, according to The Herald.
The driver, identified as av 33-year-old, turned himself in to police on Monday, Sept. 28. He faces charges such as leaving the scene of a deadly crash, leaving the scene of a crash with bodily injuries, and tampering with physical evidence.
Leesfield & Partners
This is the latest in a series of tragic crashes involving minors and electric modes of transport. The hearts of the attorneys and staff at Leesfield & Partners go out to the family that lost their 10-year-old child and are with the family of the minor, 15, who remains hospitalized. While seemingly harmless, micromobility devices such as electric bikes, motorcycles, and scooters are responsible for the countless injuries and tragic deaths of minors all over the country. With little to no statewide regulation on these vehicles, no insurance or helmet requirements, and no rules of the road, these incidents will likely continue to increase.
It is clear that the road is a dangerous place filled with distracted and impaired drivers, as demonstrated by annual crash data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. In Miami-Dade County, where the firm operates its flagship office, there have been 38,679 crashes with 159 deaths so far in 2026. Of these tragic and preventable collisions, 12,562 involved a hit-and-run with 22 deaths.
For five decades, Leesfield & Partners attorneys have represented Florida’s crash victims throughout some of the most devastating and complex motor vehicle accident cases imaginable. It is this unique experience that has led the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, to take up the role of safety advocate throughout Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, where Leesfield & Partners has operated an office since at least the 1980s. In that time, Mr. Leesfield has remained outspoken about hazards such as texting while driving, boating under the influence, and the soaring popularity of electric micromobility devices.
In 2019, as these devices were seeing a surge in popularity, Mr. Leesfieeld urged public officials to take a stand against them and disallow companies from offering them for rent on every street corner. While successful, Mr. Leesfield continued to see a trend in young children being injured while on these devices. And the problem is not limited to South Florida. Data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission showed that there were 117,600 injuries from these devices treated in emergency rooms from 2017 to 2021. In that time, 25% of these incidents involved young people from 15 to 24 years old. From 2020 to 2021, the agency found that there was a 66% increase in injuries as more and more children obtained access to these devices.
“From viral videos of riders topping 30 miles per hour in traffic, to statistics showing children injured at disproportionate rates, the need for meaningful regulation is urgent,” he said. “We must do more than hope people act safely — we must enact laws that ensure it.”
The Sun Sentinel reported a spike in e-bike accidents at Memorial Healthcare System in southern Broward County with more severe injuries. There was a 178% increase in e-bike and e-scooter trauma alerts from 2024 to 2025. Helmet use among those who were injured is low with 82% of those injured reporting that they were not wearing helmets at the time of their accident.
Leesfield & Partners continues to represent individuals and families impacted by tragic and preventable incidents on Florida’s roads and speak out on behalf of clients to enact real and lasting change to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Ongoing Cases
The firm is currently representing a 21-year-old man who was severely injured on an e-scooter. As a result, he suffered a serious gash to his forehead and fractured his left arm.
This case is being handled by Partner Justin B. Shapiro.
Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II is representing a man who was ejected from his bicycle following a Monroe County crash with a commercial truck driver.
“This driver’s one moment of inattention has left my client with life-altering injuries,” Mr. Pimentel said. “This frightening incident has left him in severe pain, causing a disruption to his daily life and happiness.”
Previous Cases
A case involving a bicyclist who was hit while stopped on the shoulder of the Overseas Highway in Key West resulted in a $5,350,000 settlement for the client. In that case, the bicyclist who was stopped on the side of the road was hit by a driver who was distracted by their car’s GPS.
A pedestrian-involved incident handled by the firm resulted in the maximum recovery amount of $6 million awarded to our injured client. In that case, a woman was walking back to her office following a mid-day break when she was struck by a truck making an illegal left turn whose driver claimed not to see her in the marked crosswalk. The woman had severe injuries including skull fractures and brain hemorrhages as a result of the driver’s negligence.
For a Toronto family, a vacation to Fort Myers turned into a nightmare after a pickup truck driver failed to see a young wife and mother attempting to cross the street. Leesfield & Partners attorneys recovered an $8.5 million settlement for the family following a $27 million arbitration award.
Another pedestrian-involved incident handled by the firm resulted in a $2.9 million recovery.
The firm previously recovered $3 million for a mother and son injured in a bicycle incident.
