MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A man identified in an arrest report as a ramp worker is facing two felony charges after police said he hit a pedestrian outside Miami International Airport and fled the scene on Thanksgiving. The victim died the next morning.
Miami-Dade police said the driver, Gerson Jean, 38, of Lauderhill, then tried to get his car repaired to cover up evidence of the crime.
The crash happened shortly before 3:55 a.m. on Nov. 28, on the airport’s Central Boulevard Expressway, in the area of 2100 NW 42nd Ave.
11 p.m. report:
Authorities said Jean, driving a Kia K5, “struck and vaulted the victim onto the roadway” and left the scene without calling 911 or rendering aid.
Medics took the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition. Doctors pronounced him dead less than 24 hours after the crash, the arrest report states. The report doesn’t identify him.
Police said they found Jean’s Kia at a Lauderhill body shop on Wednesday, with “damage consistent with striking a pedestrian.”
Authorities said Jean showed up at the body shop on Friday and police took him into custody.
His statement to police was redacted from the report.
As of Monday afternoon, Jean was being held without bond in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on charges of leaving the scene of a crash causing death and attempted evidence tampering.