Jaklin Sabag, a 33-year-old mother, was crossing the road with her eight-month-old baby's stroller in busy traffic when she was hit by the truck around 12:40 p.m. on February 14. She was pinned under the vehicle and died at the scene.
The baby was knocked out of the stroller but remained in its infant carrier compartment and was not seriously injured. Fearing another vehicle would strike the baby, a good samaritan jumped out of a nearby car and whisked the child to the side of the road, according to MPD spokesman Michael Vega.
MPD says that after reviewing three witness accounts, reviewing surveillance footage, and interviewing the driver, detectives did not find the driver at fault in the accident.
"We're still investigating but right now, we don't believe he did anything wrong," Vega says.
Why Was the Driver Not Charged?
MPD says that in the seconds leading up to the accident, the truck driver was stopped in traffic around NE 21st Street while heading south on Biscayne Boulevard in a 2019 Volvo dump truck.Sabag did not use a crosswalk when she walked into the middle of the street and in front of the truck, MPD says. Police say she paused in the truck's path, possibly to wait for oncoming traffic to pass.
According to MPD, the initial investigation indicated that the woman was so close to the truck that she was outside of the driver's line of sight. When traffic ahead of him began moving, the driver hit the gas and struck Sabag.
"Based on detectives' experience, they believe he likely could not have seen her," Vega says.
The driver indicated to investigators that he realized something terrible had just happened when he saw passersby rushing toward the scene.
New Times is looking into whether the truck was equipped with a proximity alert system, and if so, whether the system was active at the time of the accident.
Who Was Jaklin Sabag?
Property records show Jaklin Anna Sabag owned a unit with her partner in the Elysee Edgewater Miami condominium, a newly constructed waterfront building that abuts Biscayne Bay. The high-rise is located about a block away from the site of the fatal accident.A social media account listed under Sabag's name states that she studied at Boston University and hails from New York City. Her partner has spent several years working as a financial analyst and investment portfolio manager in the Big Apple, according to his professional profile.
A woman who was leaving flowers as a memorial near the accident scene Thursday told NBC6 that she knew Sabag through a local moms' group on the web.
"I push a stroller almost every day around here and so do the other moms, so it could have been any one of us," the woman said.
NBC6 reported that Sabag's father described her as a "beautiful person."
MPD says Sabag's infant was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital as a precaution but was released after doctors determined he was not seriously injured in the accident.
