Miami-Dade driver says he had ‘1 or 2 beers’ before blowing red light, killing woman, cops say

MDPD: He also had cocaine in system

Jose Izaguirre Ortiz (MDCR)

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Police arrested a man Monday on vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter charges after they said he plowed through a red light and into a pickup truck while he was driving in northwest Miami-Dade in April, killing a woman in the passenger’s seat.

Authorities said Jose Milton Izaguirre Ortiz, 42, of west Miami-Dade, claimed to have had “one or two beers” before the crash. According to an arrest report, he not only had a 0.138% blood alcohol content, but a cocaine metabolite in his system.

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Miami-Dade police said the crash happened just after 5:45 a.m. on April 28 at the intersection of Northwest 95th Street and 17th Avenue in the county’s West Little River area.

The report states that Izaguirre Ortiz was driving a 2020 Ram Rebel pickup on Northwest 95th Street when he T-boned a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado — driving south on Northwest 17th Avenue — on its passenger’s side, killing Meyling Romero Munoz.

Izaguirre Ortiz never applied the brakes before blowing through the traffic light, police said vehicle data showed.

Police said he also hit a Mercedes-Benz, injuring its driver.

The report states that Izaguirre Ortiz had “bloodshot watery eyes” and smelled like alcohol.

After he took a blood test, police said Izaguirre Ortiz admitted to drinking.

A Miami-Dade judge set Izaguirre Ortiz’s bond at $16,000; the Honduran national remained in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on an immigration hold as of Tuesday.


About the Author
Chris Gothner headshot

Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.

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