Family awarded $8M in negligence lawsuit after young mother dies in 2018 crash

One hour and 23 minutes — that’s how long it took for police to find a passenger in a wrecked car.

Twenty-two-year-old Annie Becerra could barely breathe and fell unconscious, dying two days later.

The accident happened in 2018, but the woman’s family sued Miami-Dade Police and found them negligent in her death.

"My daughter was my life," Pablo Becerra said. "She was my first daughter, she was everything."

Annie was a passenger in her boyfriend’s car when they got into an accident in Kendall. The vehicle they were in blew through a red light and smashed into another car.

"After that, we really didn't have a life," her father said. "It changed everything."

Annie was wedged between the floor and dashboard with severe brain trauma — but Miami-Dade Police and the Florida Highway Patrol didn’t find her for nearly an hour and a half.

Annie’s family hired attorney John Lukacs Jr., accusing troopers and police of negligence.

Lukacs told a jury last week that cops didn’t act quick enough to find Annie and begin life-saving measures. He also argued police should have done a better search for victims because the airbag was deployed, indicating somebody was in the passenger seat.

"There are no policies or procedures that provide for this exact situation, however, there are policies and procedures and memos that dictate that they need to use their common sense and intelligence," Luckacs said.

During the trial, attorneys for Miami-Dade County argued the door was too damaged and they were not required to open it. But a jury disagreed and found officers negligent in her death, awarding Annie’s family an $8 million verdict. $1.2 million of it against Miami-Dade County.

"Had they found her when they asked within minutes because remember, Miami-Dade County was there within minutes," Lukacs said. "Had they opened up the door, they would have just put her in a normal breathing position, they would have given her oxygen, and that would have relieved her brain swelling."

Annie is survived by her parents and a daughter who is now seven years old. She had hopes of becoming a therapist for disabled children.

"I don't know how to explain it to you, every day that goes by, I still feel the pain and I still feel it in my heart," Pablo Becerra said.

In addition to finding the county responsible for Annie’s death, the jury also found the driver, Annie’s boyfriend, mostly at fault for the accident. They also said Annie was partially at fault for not wearing a seatbelt.

NBC6 reached out to the county, police and Florida Highway Patrol and have not had a response.