10-27-2007, 10:48 PM
A 19-year veteran of City of Miami Fire-Rescue died in a horrific car crash in Shenandoah early Saturday.
Capt. Robert Garcia, 40, died instantly when a red Honda Civic apparently ran a stop sign and plowed into his pickup truck, said Ignatius Carroll, a fire department spokesman.
Paramedics and firefighters who knew Garcia responded to the accident and discovered it was their colleague. They were overcome by emotion, witnesses said.
The two young women in the Civic were taken to Ryder Trauma Center and are in critical condition. Police have not released their names.
Firefighters were mourning Garcia, a well-liked veteran.
''Everybody loved him -- he was just well thought-of, super-intelligent and coming up,'' said Miami Fire Chief William Bryson. ``He made captain a couple of years ago and you fully expected he would go on up the ranks to chief.''
Garcia was not married and did not have children, Bryson said, but he was close with his family and has a brother and sister in South Florida.
''He took care of his parents until his dad's death about a year ago,'' Bryson said.
Among his hobbies: flying ultralight airplanes from Biscayne Bay.
''He's really going to be missed. I thought the world of him. So did everyone on the job,'' Bryston said. ``We're like a family -- when someone like Robert out of nowhere is gone, it kills us. It just tears us up.''
Details about the accident are limited, but here is what is known, from witness accounts and official information.
Shortly after 2 a.m., Garcia was driving a silver pickup truck at the intersection of Southwest 16th Street and 24th Avenue.
Authorities believe the Civic, carrying two young women, blew through the stop sign and crashed into the captain's truck.
Bryson said Garcia and one his closest friends had been out celebrating with a third man, a fellow firefighter who appeared well-positioned for promotion to captain. They had dropped off the firefighter and were heading toward Garcia's house, Bryson said, when the accident happened.
The friend, still sitting in the back seat, was barely injured.
Capt. Robert Garcia, 40, died instantly when a red Honda Civic apparently ran a stop sign and plowed into his pickup truck, said Ignatius Carroll, a fire department spokesman.
Paramedics and firefighters who knew Garcia responded to the accident and discovered it was their colleague. They were overcome by emotion, witnesses said.
The two young women in the Civic were taken to Ryder Trauma Center and are in critical condition. Police have not released their names.
Firefighters were mourning Garcia, a well-liked veteran.
''Everybody loved him -- he was just well thought-of, super-intelligent and coming up,'' said Miami Fire Chief William Bryson. ``He made captain a couple of years ago and you fully expected he would go on up the ranks to chief.''
Garcia was not married and did not have children, Bryson said, but he was close with his family and has a brother and sister in South Florida.
''He took care of his parents until his dad's death about a year ago,'' Bryson said.
Among his hobbies: flying ultralight airplanes from Biscayne Bay.
''He's really going to be missed. I thought the world of him. So did everyone on the job,'' Bryston said. ``We're like a family -- when someone like Robert out of nowhere is gone, it kills us. It just tears us up.''
Details about the accident are limited, but here is what is known, from witness accounts and official information.
Shortly after 2 a.m., Garcia was driving a silver pickup truck at the intersection of Southwest 16th Street and 24th Avenue.
Authorities believe the Civic, carrying two young women, blew through the stop sign and crashed into the captain's truck.
Bryson said Garcia and one his closest friends had been out celebrating with a third man, a fellow firefighter who appeared well-positioned for promotion to captain. They had dropped off the firefighter and were heading toward Garcia's house, Bryson said, when the accident happened.
The friend, still sitting in the back seat, was barely injured.