More than six months after a 64-year-old grandfather was killed when an unmarked Miami Police Department crashed into the box truck he drove for work, the officer who was behind the wheel of the cruiser attended a traffic court hearing Thursday afternoon.
While prosecutors say there was insufficient evidence to charge the officer with a crime, the officer was cited for careless driving in the crash that killed Angel Morales.
At the hearing, the officer accepted responsibility and took a plea deal that includes 125 hours of community service
Morales’ stepdaughter, Janet Vega, sat down with NBC6 on the eve of the hearing Wednesday night.
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Vega said the family’s anguish in the wake of the tragedy has been exacerbated by what they consider an injustice.
“[The officer] was responsible for taking a life,” said Vega. “And all we're doing is going traffic court? I can imagine it’s going to be difficult on my mother.”
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An incident report obtained by NBC6 in the aftermath of the crash said the cruiser failed to yield the right of way from the posted stop sign.
The report also stated the officer driving the cruiser was "not distracted" and had "exceeded posted speed."
“In this case, somebody who took the life of [my mother’s] husband is getting something as simple as just a traffic citation. It's going to be difficult,” said Vega. “… A citation seems very petty and very minor for what occurred.”
NBC6 reached out to the State Attorney’s Office asking why prosecutors decided not to charge the officer.
“Prosecutors did not charge the officer with vehicular homicide due to a lack of sufficient evidence to support a criminal charge,” said State Attorney’s spokesman, Ed Griffith. “As you know, a prosecutor must believe he/she has sufficient evidence to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt in order to go forward with a criminal charge. As you know, in a criminal trial, the case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in order to obtain a criminal court conviction. It would be an ethical violation of prosecutorial ethics to go forward with the filing of a criminal charge lacking the necessary evidence…”
The Miami Police Department said in the aftermath of the crash an investigation was underway. Attempts made on Wednesday to solicit additional comments from the department remain pending.
