It’s Wednesday, May 11th – and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 -A family is looking for answers after their beloved Shereka Oriscar, 22, died in a fiery car crash early Friday in Miami.
Miami Police say the person behind the wheel of the Mercedes that burst into flames was 21-year-old Shamonni Alexandre-Little. According to investigators, Alexandre-Little was speeding, ran a red light, and then crashed into Oriscar. Alexandre-Little's arrest report shows she was driving without a valid license. Police say she has seven suspensions, with the latest one dated April 26.Lawyers retained by Oriscar's family say they are also looking into a police chase moments before the crash. Click here for what they had to say in a report from NBC 6's Laura Rodriguez.
No. 2 - Aurianna McNear remembers the good times with her son as a way to help her cope with his loss.
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Her son, 17-year-old Cairi McNear, was shot and killed last Wednesday on the 7100 block of 14th Place in Miami before heading to school. “My heart stopped,” McNear said. “It was deep sorrow, deep pain. That’s my boy. That’s my Cai.” On Monday, police arrested a 15-year-old for Cairi’s murder. McNear calls the arrest “bittersweet.” Click here to find out why in a report from NBC 6’s Kim Wynne.
No. 3 - Yelling and cursing erupted in the Broward County Commission chambers Tuesday as Sheriff Gregory Tony asked commissioners for millions of dollars to combat a shortage of 911 operators.
His $11.4 million request would bring the total number of dispatchers to 534, although only about 370 dispatchers were employed within the Broward Sheriff's Office as of early May. Sparks flew when Commissioner Mark Bogen said raising salaries and adding staff won’t fix the problem with the hostile work environment within the department. He claims people are leaving their jobs as operators because they're treated poorly. The problem became apparent in April when reports came out that people lost their homes and even their lives because 911 operators didn’t answer calls for help. In an effort to prevent another tragedy, commissioners voted Tuesday to have the county attorney draft a plan to give $4.7 million to BSO for raises, retention and recruitment of new and current 911 dispatch operators before the next fiscal year.
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No. 4 - Daily searches for vasectomies have soared, according to an online study. Doctors in South Florida who perform them say it could be a matter of time until they see a spike in visits.
Kendall urologist Dr. Andres Piñon says vasectomies are one of the most common procedures, taking just about 10 minutes in the office. Dr. Piñon says his office saw about a 30-40% spike in procedures during the pandemic. Now, after a draft of a Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the public, online searches for vasectomies have surged 99% according to an analysis of Google trends. Click here for why Piñon said this could just be the start in a report from NBC 6’s Julie Leonardi.
No. 5 - Who do teenagers confide in? Their friends, of course. So it makes sense to train them to identify signs of depression, anxiety and substance abuse in their peers.
The students are becoming what Miami-Dade County Public Schools calls teen mental health first aiders. These classes are happening in 18 high schools within the district, consisting of three one-hour sessions. The students seemed eager to absorb the knowledge. The goal is to be proactive, rather than reactive, according to Sally Alayon, who leads the district’s department of mental health. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Ari Odzer you’ll see Only on 6.
No. 6 - Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Max Strus added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Heat moved one win away from a trip to the Eastern Conference finals by topping the Philadelphia 76ers 120-85 on Tuesday.
The 35-point margin of victory matched the biggest so far in this year's playoffs — Philadelphia beat Toronto by 35 in the series-clincher of that first-round matchup — and matched the second-largest in Heat postseason history. Game 6 is in Philadelphia on Thursday, win-or-else for the 76ers, a chance to move on for the Heat. Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers are back home for Game 5 of their first round series against the Washington Capitals, looking to break a 2-2 tie in that series.
