Man Charged for Wreck that Flipped Broward Rescue Vehicle

March 14--A 26-year-old motorist who authorities say ran from police during a traffic stop faces a dozen charges in connection with a violent crash that flipped a Broward County rescue truck, injuring three firefighters, a woman and a child.

Claude Richard Casimir, of Miami, is charged with multiple counts of fleeing at a high speed and driving with a suspended license among other charges, Hollywood police said Friday.

According to state records, Casimir was on probation for driving-related cases in Miami-Dade County when the Hollywood crash happened just before 3 p.m. Thursday. His license had been revoked, records show.

By Friday afternoon, two of the three firefighters hurt in the crash were no longer hospitalized, officials said.

The violent collision left a Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue unit on its side, mangled and totaled, after Casimir fled in an Inifiniti G37 during a traffic stop at North 22nd Avenue and Raleigh Street, police said. An officer had pulled Casimir over for speeding -- he was traveling 43 mph in an area with a posted 30 mph speed limit, according to a Hollywood police report.

Police say Casimir initially stopped, but as the officer walked toward his car, he sped away and failed to stop at a stop sign as the rescue vehicle approached the intersection.

"The Infiniti struck the ambulance with such force that the ambulance spun around in a counterclockwise direction a full 180 degrees, collided with a fire hydrant and overturned on its right side," the report said.

The Sheriff's rescue unit was on its way to a medical call, assisting Hollywood Fire Rescue, when the crash occurred, officials said.

Hollywood Police Chief Frank Fernandez said Casimir is a "significant habitual traffic offender" who had been cited 10 prior times and whose license had been suspended five times. He called his actions "reckless."

"These are the individuals that should not be in a car," Fernandez said. "In my 30 years, I haven't seen that significant amount of damage."

A passenger in Casimir's car, Keiana Elliott, was seriously hurt with life-threatening injuries, the report said. There was also a 4-year-old girl in the car who, along with Casimir, were in stable condition, the police chief said.

By Friday, two firefighter/paramedics had been released from Memorial Regional Hospital -- Luis Hernandez, who has been with the agency more than seven years, and Mario Artze-Ordiales, who has been with the department for 2 and 1/2 years. Lt. Thomas Strok remained hospitalized in fair condition, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said. He has been with the agency a decade.

Artze-Ordiales is credited with taking "extraordinary measures to rescue his two trapped crew members," Jachles said. Despite being injured himself, Artze-Ordiales, who was in the vehicle's patient compartment used tools to break the glass in the driver's cab to help free his fellow firefighters.

Jachles would not elaborate on the types of injuries the firefighters suffered, but did say they "sustained significant injuries."

"When you look at the rescue truck, look at the damage, it really is a miracle that they were not more seriously injured," the spokesman said.

Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

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