A garbage truck driver remained hospitalized Tuesday, a day after his truck went flying off an Interstate 95 ramp in Miami and crashed about 100 feet onto the pavement below.
Family members spent the day at Jackson Memorial Hospital hoping for a full recovery for driver Kaseem Smith, as officials worked to figure out what went wrong.
"That's my nephew and I love him, I mean, if I have to stay here all night I will," Smith's uncle said. "A hundred-foot drop, that's devastating, it'll take you for a loop, I mean by the grace of God he's still here."
Cell phone video shows the seconds after the truck plunged off the highway near Southwest 7th Street. Officials said the truck also had a video recording device that was damaged in the fall, but they're working on recovering the video.
The truck landed right side up, but Smith was thrown from the cab. Witnesses said he wasn't moving at first.
"After two or three minutes he started moving his head so I understood that he was alive," one witness said.
The truck landed in a parking lot at Jose Marti Park, which is usually packed with children but since Monday was a holiday was empty.
Investigators are looking at many factors, including speed. Repairs to the ramp are expected to be completed by the end of the week.
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Family members are just hoping Smith, a father of four, won't have long-term complications.
"He's stable, he's visual, he can see everything, he's alert but other than that he's hanging in, he's coming along," his uncle said.
