A man is behind bars in the Florida Keys after police said he was behind the wheel of a Maserati while drunk and caused a fiery crash on the Seven Mile Bridge that killed an elderly woman.
Mike Muthama, 43, was arrested on a charge of negligent manslaughter and seven other counts, including driving under the influence and causing serious bodily harm in the Monday crash.
He was being held on no bond Tuesday, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, and is due in court August 8.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Muthama was driving a 2015 Maserati Ghibli northbound Monday while trying to pass a 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan. The cars collided and the Volkswagen went into the southbound lanes.
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The passenger in the Volkswagen, 85-year-old Ompora Huaman of Miramar, died at the scene. Three other family members were treated at a Marathon hospital while a 15-year-old girl was flown to Nicklaus Children's Hospital.
Braulio Hashimoto, Huaman's son, told NBC 6 in a phone interview that he and his family were in the Keys because their home’s air conditioning stopped working and they needed to get away.
Muthama was taken to a hospital in Marathon, where his blood-alcohol level registered at .17, authorities said. He was medically cleared and arrested at the hospital.
