According to the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office, the man, Tomas Raymundo Brito, 31, was driving his pickup truck when he crashed into the 74-year-old's vehicle.

The woman stopped her vehicle in the roadway and exited to open the driveway gates. Investigators say as she was walking past the driver’s side of her vehicle, Brito hit the rear end of her car, causing it to spin, strike, and knock her to the ground.

Law enforcement added that Brito’s truck continued to move forward, striking her again, which trapped her underneath his vehicle. Deputies said Brito then ran from the scene, without calling for help for the injured woman.

Local reporting revealed that Brito was later located by law enforcement, where he admitted to investigators his immigration status, saying he’s in the United States illegally, and that he has not been issued a Florida driver’s license.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Brito’s illegal status and identified the injured woman as Geraldine Byrd. DHS says Byrd remains in critical condition and remains on life support.

This has raised questions about how elected Miami-Dade officials handle Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cases.

Under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, local and state officials must take a more aggressive role in supporting federal immigration enforcement; however, Miami-Dade officials have shown reluctance to cooperate with ICE.

Threats by the state’s attorney general and their oath to uphold state law have made county commissioners abide by the state, with one commissioner, Levine Cava, in a 2025 interview saying, “This is the law of Florida, and it was required that this agreement be signed.”

Regarding Brito's custody status, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department said, "Miami-Dade County honors these detainer requests in accordance with the law by holding the individual for the authorized 48-hour period." The spokesperson further added that if Brito is not taken into custody by ICE within the 48-hour time frame, he must be released in compliance with the law.