Thanksgiving Day started with somber news as a local resident sent me a tip of a car in a canal with a possible deceased person. I paused the Thanksgiving Day prep work dressed in lovely lawn working apparel and headed to the area of North Melrose and Elm Drive. Sure enough, the reputable tipster was correct and there was heavy presence of Miami Springs Police closing off both North Melrose and South Melrose Drive. Also present were multiple Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units.
We asked a neighbor what had happened and they explained that a man had been pulled from a submerged vehicle. That was later confirmed by Miami Springs Police. A man had been pulled from the vehicle and was transported in critical condition. However, while we were on the scene we were informed by Miami Springs Police that the individual had officially been declared deceased after they transported him from the scene.
That makes the incident a Traffic Homicide situation that is officially handled by Miami-Dade Police’s Traffic Homicide Division.
Obviously, this is a huge tragedy for the friends and family of the deceased individual. It makes it even worse when it happens on Thanksgiving Day.
THIS JUST IN: Miami-Dade police have identified the driver killed after he crashed his car into a Miami Springs canal on Thanksgiving Day. https://t.co/isRK3PUXTf
— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) November 25, 2022
Channel 10 (wplg) is reporting that the individual who died is a 57-year-old named Gerald Hradelowitz.
And while Miami Springs Police responded shortly after 9am on Thanksgiving Day, it’s unclear what time the vehicle plunged into the Melrose Canal.