The Miami Lakes Town Council has asked the state’s top law enforcement agency to conduct an independent investigation on a hit-in-run accident involving the mayor, who briefly left the scene after he crashed his car into an oak tree.
At a July 1 special meeting, council members, on a 5-0 vote, acted on the recommendation from the Miami Lakes Public Safety Committee to ask the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to conduct an inquiry on the June 15 accident that occurred at N.W. 140 Street and 82 Avenue.
Councilmember Tony Lama was absent.
Roberto Alonso Jr., the committee’s chairperson, said more than 25 residents attended the group’s meeting in late June and requested the probe to seek answers and a complete transparency of Florida law for hit-and-run accidents.
“The committee wants this review in order to understand the law in an effort to provide guidance and education to our residents,” Alonso said at the special council meeting flanked by members of the Public Safety Committee.
“This is critical to our committee as the role of the Public Safety Committee is to educate our community on safety issues and there is much confusion due to the current circumstances.”
Alonso said state law requires individuals involved in a car accident to notify the police and failure to do so results in a second degree misdemeanor. The violation can carry up to 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine.
“As a committee, we must now educate the residents on what to do in the event of an accident,” Alonso said. “Should they stay on the scene or leave, and if they leave will there be consequences.”
The independent review request stemmed from the contentious accident when Mayor Michael Pizzi claimed he swerved to avoid hitting an animal and crashed his 2014 Kia into a tree without calling the police, according to a Miami-Dade police report.
A security guard on duty near the vicinity heard the crash and saw someone running from the scene and called the police, but the driver was missing and blood was discovered on the airbag, which promoted traffic homicide officers to respond to the area.
Pizzi returned to the accident scene with a baseball cap on his head, the police said.
According to Miami-Dade Police Lt. John Jenkins, Pizzi was the only person in the vehicle and he refused medical treatment.
The police department however, took some heat, because officers didn't give Pizzi a citation for leaving the scene of an accident or given a breathalyzer test to determine if was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Jenkins said the officers followed the proper protocol and the mayor was cooperative during the traffic accident investigation, which is ongoing.
Some Miami Lakes residents took exception to the way the police handled the accident case, indicating the mayor used his political power to shun the citation and a breathalyzer test.
Despite being advised by the town attorney to recuse himself from the meeting, Pizzi chose to chair a portion of the meeting involving public comments following which he turned the gavel over to Vice Mayor Manny Cid.
“I have nothing to hide,” he said. “But if my colleagues want to vote for an investigation, go right ahead.”
Some residents said the request for an FDLE investigation was politically motivated; others questioned why Pizzi ran from the scene and to a friend’s house for treatment with a fire station and hospital nearby.
Increasing their concerns was the WFOR Channel 4 news report by Gary Nelson, who questioned Pizzi during the town’s hurricane preparedness event at Costco.
Pizzi told Nelson he had no recollection of dining at Cancun Grill before the accident albeit the restaurant's manager saying he was there.
Pizzi claimed he was at Town Hall meeting with constituents.
Councilmember Ceasar Mestre, who called the special meeting, said the investigation request was not a political attack on the mayor.
“There were too many inconsistencies in this story,” said Mestre, a former police officer. “Why did you leave the scene? Why did you run? Enough people in this town deserve an answer.”
Councilmember Nelson Rodriguez, a Coral Gables firefighter, said when motorists are involved in a traffic accident they must remain at the scene.
“Was the mayor injured or hurt bad and a fire station was near,” Rodriguez said. “That was a concern for me.”
Councilmember Tim Daubert said Miami-Dade Police Director J.D. Patterson told him he didn’t mind an FDLE investigation after meeting with him about his department’s investigation into Pizzi’s accident.
“I believe, myself, nor the residents wouldn’t trust his department,” said Daubert, who was a military policeman and a certified traffic accident investigator by Northwestern University. “He [Patterson] said it’s fine with him of having another law enforcement agency to investigate what happened at that accident.”
Some residents say the request for a probe was a lack of faith in the town’s police department. “It’s an absolute disgrace to question the integrity of our police officers for political reasons,” Pizzi said before he left the meeting.
But Councilmember Frank Mingo suggested otherwise.
“We want to make sure we have the answers,” he said. “We’re not questioning the police because they did everything they could do.”