A 42-year-old Lakeland man faces multiple criminal charges after police said he killed two tourists in a hit-and-run crash while driving without headlights on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach Wednesday night. Adan Negron-Morris struck Sarisa Kongduang, 22, and Greatgomon Laowatdhanasapya, 24, as they crossed Collins Avenue at 73rd Street on North Beach just after 9:05 p.m. Both victims were visiting from Indiana and died from their injuries at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center.
“The justification given by the driver was he wanted to kill himself, so he closed his eyes (and) accelerated,” said Miami Beach Police Officer Christopher Bess, an agency spokesperson. “Unfortunately, he didn’t kill himself. He killed two innocent lives last night.” Police said Negron-Morris was driving a 2013 Nissan Sentra in a reckless manner without headlights when he struck the pedestrians, launching both victims into the air.
A witness chased Negron-Morris into a Walgreens at 7340 Collins Ave. after his vehicle became disabled near 74th Street and detained him until police arrived. “Both pedestrians were launched in the air and suffered serious bodily injuries landing on the roadway several feet from the point of impact,” a police report states. “(His) vehicle suffered extensive front end damage and the hood was bent upward into the windshield.” The witness followed Negron-Morris into the drugstore and pointed him out to arriving officers.
Police discovered that shortly before the deadly crash, Negron-Morris had been involved in another hit-and-run at 71st Street and Bay Drive on Normandy Isle. A Miami Beach officer saw Negron-Morris fleeing from that first incident and attempted to pursue him but lost sight of the vehicle just moments before the fatal collision occurred. Multiple 911 calls were received about the reckless driving as the Sentra passed the responding officer.
Negron-Morris faces charges of vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash involving death, according to Miami Beach Police. During the investigation, police initiated a DUI investigation after Negron-Morris showed signs of impairment, though he refused to provide a blood sample and police ordered hospital staff to obtain a forced blood draw. Surveillance video confirmed that Negron-Morris was speeding at the time of the crash.
According to the arrest report, Negron-Morris told investigators he suffers from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression, and had intended to take his own life by crashing the vehicle. He said he recalled “closing his eyes, pressing the accelerator, and hoping to die” and said after hearing the crash he stopped as soon as he could and considered leaving the scene but instead went into the Walgreens. Negron-Morris also told police his drug of choice is crack cocaine and marijuana, though he said on the date of the crash he had only used marijuana and an unknown substance.
Miami Beach Fire Rescue transported both pedestrians to a local hospital where doctors pronounced them dead from their injuries. Police body camera video captured Negron-Morris’s arrest at the Walgreens location. The case remains under investigation by the Miami Beach Police Department as prosecutors prepare to move forward with the criminal charges against the Lakeland resident.