Police in Miami say an 82-year-old driver struck a 7-year-old boy riding an electric scooter at a neighborhood intersection, then drove away without stopping. Weeks later, the same driver went on television, appeared to blame the child, and said, “But I left, so I am worse,” leaving a court to sort out responsibility and intent.
TLDR
Miami police say an 82-year-old driver hit a 7-year-old on an electric scooter, left the scene, and was later arrested on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury. The boy has undergone surgery, and the criminal case is still at an early stage.
What Police Say Happened at the Miami Intersection
According to Law & Crime, which cited a probable-cause arrest affidavit, the collision happened around midday on January 10th at the intersection of SW 32nd Street and SW 82nd Avenue in Miami. Investigators wrote that the boy was riding an electric scooter, with his mother following behind him on foot, as they tried to cross SW 32nd Street.
The affidavit states that a Toyota Camry, registered to 82-year-old Karina Pubchara-Martinez, struck the child as he attempted to cross. Police say the driver did not stop, and the vehicle continued through the intersection. When officers arrived, they found the 7-year-old on the side of the road, unable to move.
First responders documented what they described as an acute head injury, a broken femur, and multiple scrapes and bruises. Paramedics transported the child to a hospital, where his mother later told local reporters he would need several surgeries and faced a long recovery.
Under Florida law, any driver involved in a crash that causes injury is required to stop, remain at the scene, and provide information and aid. The affidavit accuses Pubchara-Martinez of failing to do that after the scooter collision.
From Cellphone Data to a Felony Charge
Law & Crime reports that investigators did not immediately identify the Camry or its driver. Nearly two weeks after the crash, on January 22nd, officers located a Toyota Camry about three miles from the intersection. The vehicle, according to the affidavit, showed front-end damage that appeared consistent with the boy’s injuries and the reported impact.
Detectives also used cellphone location data to place Pubchara-Martinez near the scene at the time of the crash, the affidavit states. Based on that data and the condition of the vehicle, officers identified her as the suspected driver.
Police ultimately arrested Pubchara-Martinez on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury, a felony under Florida law. Law & Crime reports that she turned herself in at a police station and later posted a $7,500 bond.
At this stage, the allegation remains just that. A charge filed by law enforcement or approved by a prosecutor is not a finding of guilt, and Pubchara-Martinez is presumed innocent unless and until a court concludes otherwise. The case is expected to move through the Miami-Dade County court system, with future hearings to determine whether it proceeds to trial or is resolved another way.
Public Interview, Conflicting Accounts
According to Law & Crime, Pubchara-Martinez declined to provide a detailed statement to police investigators. Instead, she spoke extensively to NBC affiliate WTVJ in Miami. The station’s interview, quoted in the Law & Crime report, presents a narrative that appears to conflict with the incident described in the affidavit.
In that interview, Pubchara-Martinez suggested the child was at fault, telling the station that the scooter appeared suddenly in front of her vehicle as she was driving home from visiting her son. “I was passing the jail when they hit me,” she said, describing the moment of impact in a way that suggested the scooter struck her car rather than the other way around.
She also recounted her decision to leave: “I got afraid because my glasses were not on my face and I ran away and that is very bad,” she told WTVJ, according to Law & Crime. In another portion of the interview, she said, “I was passing through, and they did not stop when they are supposed to stop, and they hit me. But I left, so I am worse.”
Those public comments cut two ways. On one hand, Pubchara-Martinez appears to be asserting that the child did not follow traffic rules and that the scooter struck her vehicle. On the other, she appears to acknowledge leaving the area of the crash without remaining at the scene.
The affidavit, by contrast, portrays the 7-year-old as the struck party. It states that a vehicle registered to Pubchara-Martinez hit the boy as he attempted to cross the street with his mother nearby, and that the driver then left. That discrepancy, between her public account and the investigative narrative, is likely to be a central issue if the case goes to trial.
The Boy’s Injuries and the Family’s Questions
While the driver’s legal exposure will be decided in court, the boy’s medical situation is already documented. Law & Crime, citing the affidavit and the mother’s interview with WTVJ, reports that the 7-year-old suffered a serious head injury and a broken femur, among other wounds. His mother said he has already undergone multiple surgeries.
In her own interview with WTVJ, the mother described the moment she realized her son had been hit and the driver had not stayed. She said she could not understand how anyone could collide with a child and keep going. “Had I not been outside, I probably would have found him dead or something,” she said, according to the account relayed by Law & Crime.
The mother also told the station that her son faces a long period of rehabilitation. The affidavit does not specify whether doctors expect any permanent impairment, and no public filing so far details his long-term prognosis. For now, the documented facts are that he was critically hurt, treated in the hospital, and continues to recover.
Legal Standards and Unresolved Issues
Leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury requires more than just a collision. Under Florida law, prosecutors typically must show that the driver knew, or reasonably should have known, that a crash occurred and that someone was injured, then failed to remain and fulfill legal duties such as providing information and contacting emergency services.
In this case, investigators are likely to rely on several categories of evidence if the matter proceeds: physical damage to the vehicle, the severity and nature of the child’s injuries, the cellphone location data, and Pubchara-Martinez’s own recorded statements. Her televised remarks, where she appears to acknowledge leaving and also disputes who was at fault, may become part of the prosecution’s and defense’s strategies.
Several questions remain unanswered in public records and reporting so far. The available accounts do not specify the driver’s speed, whether there were any traffic-control devices at the intersection, how visible the scooter was from a distance, or whether any independent witnesses observed the collision. There is also no public indication yet of whether defense attorneys will challenge the cellphone data or the interpretation of the Camry’s front-end damage.
For now, the documented record shows a 7-year-old facing a long recovery, an 82-year-old driver facing a felony charge, and two competing narratives about responsibility for a brief but consequential moment in a Miami intersection. How a judge or jury will weigh the physical evidence, the affidavit, and the televised interview remains to be seen.
