Kendall District Police Officer Dies in Car Crash

Giovanni Gonzalez, a 23-year-old Miami-Dade Police officer in Kendall, died this morning when his marked patrol car collided with a dump truck while traveling southbound on Florida's Turnpike near SW 152nd Street. The vehicles collided at 4:07 a.m. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. Firefighters cut through...

By Lisel N. Holzapfel

June 16, 2009

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Giovanni Gonzalez, a 23-year-old Miami-Dade Police officer in Kendall, died this morning when his marked patrol car collided with a dump truck while traveling southbound on Florida's Turnpike near SW 152nd Street.

The vehicles collided at 4:07 a.m. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. Firefighters cut through the smashed Ford Crown Victoria's driver side door and pulled Gonzalez out, according to the Miami Herald. He died on the scene.

After the crash, the dump truck's driver stopped nearby on the shoulder of the road. The driver's name has not been released.

Southbound lanes on the turnpike from 120th to 152nd streets were shut down until 10:30 a.m.

Miami-Dade Traffic Homicide detectives are still collecting evidence and investigating what caused the collision.

A flag of honor for Officer Gonzalez will arrive at Miami International Airport Concourse D at 1 p.m.

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