Michael Lima never knew what hit him. He was travelling north from Ft. Lauderdale on Interstate 95 in Brevard County, near the Volusia County border. Unknown to him, Harry Brown, of Astor, had made a huge mistake. Somehow Mr. Brown had entered the Interstate on an exit ramp, and was traveling down the Interstate in the wrong direction.
Florida Highway Patrol records indicate that Mr. Brown somehow traveled 11 miles in the wrong direction before he crashed into to Mr. Lima, causing Lima’s vehicle to roll into the median and burst into flames. Both men were taken by emergency transport to local hospitals.
At this point, only Mr. Brown knows why he got on Interstate 95 by way of an exit ramp, and why he never realized what he was doing over the course of 11 miles and simply turned around.
In our experience, the explanation usually has something to do with alcohol or drug use. In fact, we satisfactorily resolved a case a few months ago involving a drunk driver on a stretch of Interstate 95 near where this fiery crash occurred.
Accident victims may not know that in Florida they can collect punitive damages from a driver who causes an accident due to intoxication. Of all the automobile accident cases we handle, perhaps the most gratifying are those against drunk drivers. There is simply no excuse for drunk driving in our opinion.
