Man accused of trapping pedestrian under truck, Miami-Dade deputies say

A driver is accused of trapping an older woman underneath a vehicle early Sunday and leaving the crash on foot, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.

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The pedestrian stopped her vehicle on Lincoln Drive around 2:25 a.m. to open the gate to her driveway, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said in an arrest affidavit. At the same time, Tomas Brito, 31, of Homestead, was headed east down the road in a gray 2023 Toyota Tacoma.

As she was walking past the driver’s side door of her vehicle, Brito hit the rear of her vehicle, the affidavit said. Her vehicle rotated around 180 degrees clockwise, hit her and knocked her to the ground.

Brito’s pickup truck continued traveling east and hit the woman, trapping her underneath the vehicle, the affidavit said. He got out of his truck and left on foot without calling police or helping her. She suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to Jackson South Hospital, where she was placed on life support.

A witness flagged down responding deputies, the affidavit said. He told deputies that he followed Brito and saw him enter a nearby shed.

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Deputies arrested Brito, who is facing charges of operating a vehicle without a license causing seriously bodily injury and leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury. He “admitted that he had consumed approximately five beers prior to the crash,” the affidavit said.

The victim, who was not identified, was still in critical condition as of late Sunday, according to Detective Argemis Colome, a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

While Brito’s bond is set at $15,000, he was on an immigration hold as of Monday afternoon at the Miami-Dade Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, jail records show. Authorities say he is a citizen of Guatemala without lawful status and has never been issued a Florida driver’s license.

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His public defender didn’t respond Monday to a request for comments.