Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Police have named the driver accused in a Thanksgiving hit-and-run incident near Miami International Airport that killed a pedestrian.
Gerson Jean, 38, was charged Friday with leaving the scene of a crash involving death and attempted tampering with physical evidence.
The incident happened just before 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day near 2100 Northwest 42nd Avenue, close to Miami International Airport. The pedestrian involved in the crash was seen on airport surveillance footage crossing the street when a gray Kia K5 hit them. Police say the car was being driven by Jean.
The car left the scene without calling 911 to report the crash and without trying to help the pedestrian, later identified as 61-year-old Jacques Harry Durosier. Emergency responders took Durosier to Jackson memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center where he later died from his injuries.
The car was later discovered by police when it was taken into a mechanic shop, displaying damage consistent with striking a pedestrian. Police found Jena at the body shop where he was arrested and later charged.
Miami-Dade County 2024 Crash Stats
In data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there have been approximately 9,401 pedestrian-involved crashes throughout the state in 2024. Of those crashes, nearly 600 people have died. The state has seen 88,766 hit-and-runs causing 18,412 injuries and 214 deaths.
In Miami-Dade County, where population and traffic congestion are high, FLHSMV reported 54,274 crashes in 2024. Of those crashes, 1,678 involved pedestrians with 66 deaths. There were 17,184 hit-and-runs in 2024 with 2,737 injuries. At least 30 people were killed in hit-and-run incidents this year.
Leesfield & Partners
As a personal injury law firm headquartered in a city that sees hundreds of thousands of crashes each year, Leesfield & Partners attorneys know just how dangerous the roads can be. From daily traffic stress to distracted and impaired drivers, each day on the road in this city can easily become a nightmare. This hazard is exactly why the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, has made road safety a main focus for his charitable foundation, The Leesfield Family Foundation. In the past, Mr. Leesfield has contributed to road safety organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Friends of The Underline, an organization aiming to improve pedestrian safety and transform the area underneath Miami-Dade County’s Metrorail system into various community gathering spaces.
This year, Mr. Leesfield has contributed a significant amount of The Underline’s funding annual funding goal, and he and his wife, Cynthia Leesfield, sat on the first-ever host committee for the Friends of The Underline Sneaker Ball in September. The event was held to raise awareness about the organization and raise funds for ongoing and future projects. In March 2023, Mr. Leesfield joined the organization’s Board of Directors.
In nearly five decades of personal injury practice in Florida, Leesfield & Partners has secured nearly $200 million for injured clients and grieving families involved in all manner of incidents on the road including motor vehicle collisions, bicycle crashes, pedestrian crashes, motorcycle crashes, collisions involving trucks and tractor-trailers. In that time, our attorneys have developed expert litigation techniques and have successfully obtained compensation for clients whose lives have been forever altered by the negligence of distracted and impaired drivers.
Most notably, the firm secured over $95 million for a family after they were hit head-on by a drunk driver. The family was on their way to the airport to drop off their 23-year-old daughter at her medical school’s orientation when the collision took place. In that instance, the driver was speeding and going down the wrong side of I-95 after being overserved at a well-known Miami Bar.
Their daughter was killed as a result and their son, 21, sustained life-changing injuries that require round-the-clock care. The son was left unable to speak and needs a wheelchair. In court, a jury awarded $57 million to the son and $38 million to the parents, making this the largest verdict within the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida.
In an incident involving a pedestrian, a young wife and mother of two was killed while vacationing in Fort Myers from Toronto, Canada. In that incident, the woman was attempting to cross the street when she was crushed by a pickup truck. The driver claimed not have seen her.
Leesfield & Partners secured an $8.5 million settlement with the defendant after a $27 million arbitration award.
Another pedestrian represented by Leesfield & Partners was awarded a $6 million settlement, the maximum insurance policy limit. That case was handled by Justin B. Shapiro, a Partner and Trial lawyer at the firm. In that case, the client was walking back to her office after a short break in broad daylight when she was hit in the pedestrian crosswalk by a pickup driver making an illegal left turn. The woman was hit with the steel bars on the front end of the truck and sustained agonizing injuries that included skull fractures and a brain hemorrhage. Her left leg was also injured in the incident.
The firm also secured a $2.9 million award for a pedestrian hit by a negligent driver.
Another pedestrian who was walking on the sidewalk when he was hit by a distracted driver using a cell phone was awarded a $1.5 million settlement thanks to Leesfield & Partners attorneys.
