MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Officers arrested a 24-year-old man on Thursday for his role in the deaths of a teacher, her husband, and her mother during a crash in Miami-Dade County.
Rodney Rodriguez, of Hialeah, was driving a white 2018 Range Rover Evoque with a black top, when he crashed into the silver 2017 Kia Forte that Karina Diaz, 49, was driving.
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Adalberto Cereijo, 51, and Elena Diaz, 75, were the two passengers inside the Kia during the Aug. 31 crash at the intersection of Southwest 72nd Street and Southwest 92nd Avenue.
Rodriguez continued traveling westbound on Sunset Drive. Just west of the Don Shula Expressway, after the train tracks, the Kia turned northbound from the eastbound lanes of Southwest 72nd Street.
According to the arrest form, before the fatal crash, Rodriguez exited the Palmetto Expressway at Southwest 72nd Street, when an officer reported he was speeding.
The officer with the South Miami Police Department attempted a traffic stop, police said. Rodriguez continued to speed, the officer followed and while out of the jurisdiction decided to return to South Miami, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Records show a Miami-Dade County Circuit judge suspended Rodney Rodriguez’s license in July after he failed to show up to court. Rodriguez was accused of running a red light in May and of driving on the wrong side of the road in April.
In 2019, Rodriguez was arrested for marijuana possession and prosecutors dropped the case. In 2017, Rodriguez was accused of careless driving in August and of driving too fast for conditions in May.
Rodriguez is facing three counts of vehicular homicide.