It’s Wednesday, December 29th - and NBC 6 has the top stories for the day.
No. 1 - Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies have arrested the driver responsible for the hit-and-run crash that struck six young children, killing two of them in Wilton Manors, according to BSO Tuesday.
The driver, 27-year-old Sean Charles Greer, plowed into six children and fled the scene after killing two young girls and injuring four others. Andrea Fleming, 6, and Kylie Jones, 5, were pronounced dead at the scene Monday afternoon outside an apartment building near Powerline Road, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. They also announced Tuesday that they found the hit-and-run vehicle in Wilton Manors. Greer confessed to his involvement in the crash.
No. 2 - Florida recorded over 29,000 new COVID-19 cases for Monday, and the state's hospital association restarted its daily reporting of hospitalizations as infections of the omicron variant rise.
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The 29,059 cases reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday pushed Florida's total to 3,965,229 cases since the pandemic began. Cases in the state have risen sharply since the rise of the omicron variant during the holidays. Florida reported a record of nearly 33,000 new infections on Christmas Eve, and 29,000 cases combined for the past weekend. Researchers have said that while the lines to get a COVID-19 test in South Florida are dramatic and show the desire for as much testing as possible, in the big picture, the number of cases is not as important as who goes to the hospital.
No. 3 - In response to the increasing demand for COVID-19 tests across South Florida, Miami-Dade County is opening two new testing sites and expanding hours at the Zoo Miami testing location.
The Zoo Miami testing site will now be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, a news release said. The two new testing sites will be located at the Youth Fairgrounds at Tamiami Park and Dolphin Station Park & Ride in Miami. Click here for a complete list of locations you can visit.
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No. 4 - As COVID-19 concerns sweep through the nation and bad weather travels up north, flight cancelations and delays have been reported at South Florida airports.
On Monday, less than half of passengers nationwide made it to their destinations within four hours of the scheduled arrival times. As of late Tuesday afternoon, there had been 44 flights canceled at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, with 117 flights delayed. At Miami International Airport, there were 23 cancelations along with 164 delays, down from the 236 delays and 45 cancelations there on Monday. But if it's your flight that’s canceled, the scramble to rearrange plans is immediate and stressful. Click here for more in a report from NBC 6’s Ari Odzer.
No. 5 - Artist Kyle Holbrook is paying tribute to the path-blazing fashion designer Virgil Abloh in Wynwood.
Abloh died a month ago from a rare form of heart cancer at the age of 41. With his passing, he left behind a legacy of creativity and inspiration. Abloh was the first Black artistic director at Louis Vuitton Menswear and later created his own street clothing line called "Off White," Holbrook told NBC 6. In the mural, Holbrook used acrylic paints from the company PPG and used a yellow shade called "visionary." Click here to see the mural in a report from NBC 6’s Claudia DoCampo.
No. 6 - For the second straight year, the annual Big Orange Drop in downtown Miami to ring in the new year will not take place.
City commissioner Joe Carollo confirmed to NBC 6 that the drop - which is actually where the Orange in question rises up the side of the Intercontinental Hotel - will not take place after the staff behind the event tested positive for COVID-19. Carollo added the event, including fireworks at midnight, would continue as planned and a virtual orange drop would take place. The entire event was canceled in 2020, the first time in three decades Miami rang in the new year without the big orange.
