Palmetto Expressway

Driver in Wrong-Way Palmetto Expressway Crash That Killed 5 Facing Charges

Maiky Simeon, 30, will face five counts of vehicular homicide, Florida Highway Patrol officials said

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The driver who caused a wrong-way crash on the Palmetto Expressway in Miami-Dade over the weekend that killed five people is facing vehicular homicide charges, authorities said Monday.

Maiky Simeon, 30, will face five counts of vehicular homicide, Florida Highway Patrol officials said.

Maiky Simeon
Florida Highway Patrol
Maiky Simeon

Troopers are still awaiting the results of a toxicology report to determine if he was impaired at the time of the crash, officials said.

Simeon remained hospitalized Monday but will be booked into jail once he's released.

The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. Saturday when a silver Infiniti sedan driven by Simeon was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes in the area of Northwest 57th Avenue when it slammed head-on into a gray Honda sedan.

Five people who were in the Honda were killed at the scene, including 19-year-old Briana Pacalagua, whose friend spoke with NBC 6 on Monday.

According to an arrest report, Simeon, the only person in the Infiniti, had been driving in the wrong direction for at least one mile before the crash.

"There were no pre-collision skid marks for vehicle 1 or evidence on the roadway indicating that the defendant took any evasive actions to avoid the crash," the report said. "The defendant drove in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons by driving the wrong way at a high rate of speed and never attempted to take any evasive actions to avoid the crash."

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