White flowers, candles and a painting adorned a light pole in memory of a woman who was killed while crossing a busy street near downtown Miami and pushing her 8-month-old boy in a stroller.
Jaklin Sabag, 33, died Wednesday after she was pinned under a dump truck on Biscayne Boulevard near Northeast 22nd Street, in the Edgewater neighborhood. Police are still investigating the incident.
Laura Espejo and about two dozen other community members joined together Thursday evening at the intersection to pay their respects. While Espejo didn’t know Sabag, she said they visited the same parks and walked the same roads.
Espejo added she wants to see more pedestrian safety measures implemented in the area to prevent further tragedies.
“I think this situation could cause a positive impact on the design of our crosswalks in this neighborhood,” she said. “She is already causing [more] unity in this neighborhood.”
Nearly two years ago, Alexandra Paz and her friends created the “Margaret Pace Park Moms” WhatsApp group chat, which sprouted into community of more than 90 mothers sharing helpful parenthood tips.
Sabag was one of those members.
“A lot of us walk this route every day…so I think it was really tragic for all of us seeing how heartbreaking it was,” Paz said. “It could be any of us; as everyone knows, this is a very busy street.”
Did the trucker see her?
At around 12:40 p.m. Wednesday, the truck driver was heading down Biscayne Boulevard, when he stopped in heavy traffic, police said.
According to investigators, Sabag was crossing the street between cars and not using a nearby pedestrian crosswalk. When the truck driver saw traffic move forward, he hit the gas and felt a bump.
He stepped out of the truck and saw a woman pinned under the vehicle — and her leg stuck under the truck’s tires — while a good Samaritan was picking up the baby boy, police said.
Detectives have since reviewed a nearby store’s security camera footage.
“Based on what we have observed, there is no way the driver would have seen her from where he was sitting,” police spokesman Michael Vega said Wednesday. “That’s why it is important to cross behind trucks, in the designated crosswalk.”
The baby wasn’t injured; Sabag died on the street.
For Paz, Sabag’s death proved that traffic in the city has been “getting out of hand.” Last Valentine’s Day, she said her father was airlifted to a hospital after getting hit by a vehicle.
“I think during the holidays we all need to be mindful of everyone who is around us,” she underscored. “We need to stop texting and driving because everyone’s life is valuable, especially a mother’s life….”
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