MIAMI – The father of a young girl seriously hurt when a 92-year-old driver mixed up the gas and the brake and hit her and her mother outside of a Miami drugstore spoke to Local 10 News on Wednesday.
Joany Figueredo‘s 7-year-old daughter, Stephanie, is now fighting for her life after suffering a serious head injury. Figueredo said he’s praying for a miracle.
“She is the daughter everyone would want and they took her away from me,” Figueredo said in Spanish.
The crash happened outside the Navarro Discount Pharmacy at 2120 SW 32nd Ave. just before 4 p.m. Monday.
Witnesses said good Samaritans stepped in to lift Stephanie out from under a tire.
“They managed to get her out,” Figueredo said.
She was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition.
Figueredo said he hopes families use his tragedy to reevaluate whether their elderly loved ones should be behind the wheel.
“Restrict people from driving at that age,” he said.
The senior behind the wheel, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was cited for careless driving but is not expected to be charged criminally.
Family members have set up a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses.