Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
A 22-year-old woman has died following a crash Thursday, April 23, in Miami Gardens involving a county bus, according to reporting from local media.
The woman was heading eastbound on Northwest 199th Street when she allegedly ran a red light and crashed into the bus as it was turning left onto Northwest Seventh Avenue, police told reporters with NBC 6. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
At least one passenger aboard the bus was taken to the hospital after reporting feeling pain.
Authorities have not released the woman’s identity.
The investigation is ongoing.
Leesfield & Partners: Securing Real Verdicts for Victims
This tragic incident is a heartbreak that no family should ever have to endure. Far too many families, however, have suffered the loss of a loved one in a preventable car accident. Every year, hundreds of people die on Florida roads. As of April 2026, there have been approximately 100,149 crashes in the state, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Crash Dashboard, which tallies annual crash data. From these incidents, there have been nearly 700 deaths. In 2025, there were 366,759 crashes in the state with 2,961 deaths.
In Miami-Dade County, where Leesfield & Partners has its main office, there were 56,016 crashes in 2025, the data showed. At least 272 people died in these incidents and 18,600 others were injured.
Leesfield & Partners is a personal injury law firm with five decades of experience guiding crash victims and grieving families through the legal process following a tragic crash. Our skilled trial attorneys represent every client with the necessary compassion and tenacity required to secure the best possible result. Our team has secured numerous record verdicts throughout the state in horrific crashes, including a $95 million verdict in Miami-Dade County, an over $36 million result in a motor vehicle accident, a $29.7 million road construction motor vehicle accident result, and a $19.8 million motorcycle crash.
In the $95 million verdict, Leesfield & Partners represented the grieving family of a 23-year-old woman who was killed when a wrong-way drunk driver hit the vehicle she was in head-on on I-95. The young woman was in the car with her family at the time of the crash, preparing to head off to her medical school’s orientation. Also in the car was her 21-year-old brother who suffered severe and permanent injuries. Following the horrific incident, he was left with catastrophic brain and orthopedic injuries that left him requiring a wheelchair and round-the-clock care.
At trial, a jury awarded over $95 million to the family with $57 million going to the son and $38 million going to the parents.
“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.”
Partner Justin B. Shapiro previously represented the grieving family of a pedestrian who died in a crash. That case resulted in a $36.96 million verdict.
Mr. Leesfield previously handled a defective product case involving a 27-year-old man who was severely and permanently injured due to an issue with his Honda motorcycle. The man was riding the motorcycle when the kickstand suddenly and erroneously deployed, causing the bike to spin out of control. Our client was paralyzed as a result of his spinal injuries.
Leesfield & Partners obtained a $19.8 million verdict.
Previous Cases
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.
Mr. Shapiro settled a pedestrian case for $6 million, the maximum recoverable amount. The crash happened in October 2019 when our client was walking back to her office after a midday break. While she was in the marked crosswalk in broad daylight, a pickup truck driver suddenly made an illegal left turn.
As a result, she suffered horrific skull fractures, brain hemorrhages and significant injuries to her left leg. The driver claimed not to have seen our client despite clear visibility, the marked crosswalk and road signage.
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 previously settled a pedestrian case for $1.2 million. The pedestrian in this case was a child who was hit while attempting to cross a street in Fort Lauderdale. As a result of the crash, our minor client hit his head on the pavement and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Previously, Mr. Shapiro represented a minor who was told to cross the street by a careless school bus driver just before he was struck in the road by a speeding driver. The boy suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the crash and had to be airlifted to the hospital. Through an investigation and identifying what could have been an overlooked defendant, Mr. Shapiro discovered that the bus driver violated state law and endangered the students she was tasked with protecting. By not stopping as far right as possible and by not ensuring 200 feet of visibility in either direction from her bus, this driver risked the lives of several students and our client.
A confidential settlement was reached in that case.
Trial Attorney Bernardo Pimentel II settled a $1 million fatal car accident case on behalf of a family who tragically lost their 8-year-old daughter due to the negligence of a pharmaceutical delivery company’s employee. In that case, the company attempted to argue that this employee was an independent contractor, however, Mr. Pimentel argue that because this company exerted a certain level of control over this driver, – wearing a uniform and issuing a schedule he was obligated to follow – their claim was invalid. This level of control categorized him as an employee making the company liable for his reckless driving.
Trial Lawyer Eric Shane recently obtained a confidential amount for a young passenger who was injured in a severe Florida crash.
Mr. Pimentel also settled a confidential case on behalf of a family whose 5-year-old son suffered serious injuries when he was hit by a car that crashed through the front of a Florida discount store.
Evan Robinson, a Leesfield & Partners Trial Attorney, previously secured a six-figure settlement on behalf of a client was injured in a Monroe County car accident.
Trial Attorney Carlos Fabano is representing a wheelchair pedestrian who was hit by a speeding vehicle, causing severe and permanent injuries.
If you or a loved one was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Florida, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today for a free consultation at 800-836-6400.
