A family is mourning and searching for answers after 24-year-old Michelle Salmeron Membreno was killed while waiting at a bus stop Saturday night.
Salmeron Membreno, who aspired to be an accountant, was sitting on a bench when a Miami Police cruiser collided with another vehicle at the intersection of NW 47th Avenue and NW 7th Street.
The impact sent the vehicles careening into the bus stop, injuring three people, including Salmeron Membreno and another woman, Juana Gutierrez.
Sister struggles to understand
Laura Salmeron Membreno, Michelle’s older sister, is devastated and searching for answers.
“I’m having a difficult time processing this because it’s so unnecessary and unexplainable how my little sister, just sitting on a bench, was killed,” Laura told CBS News Miami.
The sisters had planned to go out that night, but Michelle never made it home. “I spoke to her around 7:15. Unfortunately, by 8 o’clock, she never made it home, and I found out she died,” Laura said.
Investigation raises questions about speed, traffic cameras
Witnesses, including Gutierrez, have questioned the speed of the police cruiser. “The officer was coming so fast,” she said.
Attorney Carlos Silva, representing the Salmeron Membreno family, noted that the intersection’s red-light cameras were not working at the time of the crash.
Miami Police later stated that the city has not used red-light cameras for six years.
The officer involved in the crash has been released from the hospital and remains on active duty as the investigation continues.
A family’s search for justice
Salmeron Membreno’s family is left heartbroken.
“My sister was a good person with a lot of goals, but she didn’t get to accomplish them,” Laura said.
Their parents, who live in Nicaragua, are now making arrangements to travel to the U.S. to bury their daughter.
As they grieve, they are also demanding accountability for the crash that cut her life short.
