1 dead, 10 hurt after Miami city dump truck slams into taxi

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News 7 Miami – Fort Lauderdale  /  April 8, 2016

Police continue to investigate one day after a City of Miami dump truck slammed into a taxi cab at an intersection, killing one woman and triggering a chain-reaction crash that injured 10 other people.

According to police, the dump truck caused the crash when it plowed into vehicles standing at the intersection on Northwest Seventh Street and 17th Avenue in Miami, Friday, at around noon.

"The driver of that city dump truck is the one that impacted that yellow taxi," said Miami Police Officer Kenia Fallat.

Surveillance video from a local business captured video of the dump truck plowing into the Diamond Cab taxi cab and then into the numerous vehicles ahead of it, including a medical transport minibus and a scooter.

Kevin Euceda, who was riding the scooter, said he was waiting for the light to change when the truck seemed to come out of nowhere. "Like an explosion. My scooter was under the tire of the big truck, so I went flying," he said.

Investigators said a woman sitting in the back of the taxi cab was killed. She was later identified as 66-year-old Pamela Kay Plummer.

Police shut down the intersection of Northwest 17th Avenue and Seventh Street at around 12:30 p.m. It reopened to traffic about eight hours later.

Those injured were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, including Euceda, a 5-year-old boy and the taxi cab driver. Four of the victims sustained serious injuries.

Crime scene investigators remained at the scene for hours. It wasn't until 6 p.m. that many of the vehicles involved were placed on tow trucks. The taxi cab was towed away with the woman's body still inside.

Police are trying to determine what caused the deadly crash. "There are a lot of things that we need to consider," said Fallat. "We don't know what the driver was going through at that precise time. We don't know if there was a truck malfunction, if he was suffering a medical condition."

The City of Miami released a statement, Friday afternoon, which stated, "The City of Miami deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries that occurred as the result of a multi-vehicle crash, which included a Public Works dump truck."

On Saturday, city officials identified the driver of the dump truck as Larry Ellis.

In a video statement, Miami City Manager David J. Alfonso said, "Our hearts go out to the family members of those people that have been injured. We wish that those people get well as soon as possible, and to the family of the deceased, we wish that there's comfort for them."