Florida police patrol car crash kills civilian, injures two cops

Police released the names of the two officers involved in a deadly patrol crash in Hialeah on Tuesday night that killed a man and injured the two officers, but said little else about the incident.

Hialeah police Sgt. Eddie Rodriguez said the dead man was 51-year-old Orestes Amador, Jr. The two officers involved in the crash were Ernesto Del Valle and Daniel Garcia-Muniz.

A patrol car driven by the two officers smashed into Amador’s Volkswagen Passat at the intersection of East Fifth Avenue and Hialeah Drive at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Rodriguez said the officers were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable condition.

Amador Jr., the sole occupant of the Passat, died at the scene.

“The City of Hialeah Police Department extends its deepest heartfelt condolences to all those affected by last night’s unfortunate crash, which claimed the life of a 51-year-old man and injured two Hialeah police officers.”

Rodriguez wouldn’t release any other information, saying the incident is still considered an active investigation. An investigator with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office responded to the scene of the accident.

This story was originally published January 3, 2018 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Florida police patrol car crash kills civilian, injures two cops."