12-year-old boy dies days after being struck by car near elementary school in Miami-Dade – NBC 6 South Florida
A child who was struck by a car near an elementary school in northwest Miami-Dade Thursday morning has died, officials said.
The incident happened near the 500 block of Northwest 151st Street, not far from Biscayne Gardens Elementary School in Golden Glades.
Miami-Dade Police officials said the 12-year-old was crossing a street when he was struck. He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition.
The child later died, police confirmed Tuesday.
The boy’s death was also confirmed by loved ones in a GoFundMe page that had been set up to help his family with expenses.
Mathayus Ruedas attended Thomas Jefferson Biscayne Gardens Elementary, according to the GoFundMe page.
“Mathayus gained his angel wings on Monday February 19, 2024 at 8:05 a.m.,” the page said. “Thank you everyone for all of your prayers, words of encouragement, and donations. Please continue to share this campaign and his mom and siblings will need all the help we can provide.”
The boy’s grandmother told NBC6 he had gone through surgery later Thursday after the incident.
“It’s horrible. How fast can a person go to put somebody who should have been in a school zone in critical condition? That’s my concern. People are just majorly unaware,” said the grandmother, who only gave her first name, Susan.
The vehicle stayed at the scene, police said. Officers appeared to be speaking with the driver who was believed to be involved and who appeared to be visibly emotional.
The area where the incident happened is a school zone beginning at 7:15 a.m., with a 15 mph speed limit.
But surveillance video from a neighbor showed Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responding to the scene around 7:12 a.m., a few minutes before the speed limit would have been in effect.
Cameras captured a woman who said she was the boy’s grandmother expressing frustration and saying drivers speed down Northwest 151st Street all too often.
Police haven’t said whether speed was a factor in the incident, which remains under investigation.
