Key West Injury Lawyer Blog
A mother and daughter riding their bikes in the Florida Keys were involved in a tragic crash with a pickup truck, resulting in the 7-year-old’s death Tuesday, Dec. 23, according to local media.
The driver involved in the incident, who has not been named by police as of Wednesday, Dec. 24, will face criminal charges, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.
The crash happened around 2:50 p.m. at the Valero Gas Station, located at 7301 Overseas Highway in Marathon. The driver was in a Ford F-250 and was allegedly coming out of the gas station to make a right turn when the child and her mother were crossing the entrance.
The driver is accused of hitting the child who, despite wearing a helmet, died on impact, according to local media.
Police told reporters that alcohol was not a factor in the crash and that the investigation is ongoing.
Additional details, including what charges the man would be facing in relation to this incident, were not immediately available Wednesday, Dec. 24.
Leesfield & Partners
The loss of a child is unimaginable and a tragedy that no parent should ever have to face. The thoughts of the attorneys and staff of Leesfield & Partners are with the family of the child following this horrific crash. In 49 years of personal injury trial experience, our attorneys know just how dangerous Florida roads can be. The state has had over 346,500 crashes in 2025 with more than 2,600 deaths and 225,587 injuries, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Crash Dashboard.
In Monroe County, where this latest tragedy took place, and where the firm has operated an office on historic Whitehead Street since at least the 1980s, there have been more than 1,500 crashes in 2025 with 12 deaths and 954 injuries. There have been 124 bicycle crashes in Monroe County this year, resulting in two deaths.
Over the years, the firm has successfully represented victims of trucking accidents, bicyclist and motorcycle crashes, and pedestrian collisions caused by negligent or distracted drivers across the state. With offices in Miami, Orlando, and Key West, Leesfield & Partners has a strong presence throughout Florida.
The firm’s deep roots in the Florida Keys go back to before it was established, when Ira Leesfield, the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, tried his very first case in Key West. Since then, our attorneys have regularly represented clients in Monroe County in areas such as boating incidents, carbon monoxide litigation, and motor vehicle accidents.
Mr. Leesfield’s decades of experience litigating severe injury cases on Florida’s roads have led him to become a passionate advocate for public safety. In the past, he has worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and more recently, through his charitable organization, The Leesfield Family Foundation, he has partnered with Friends of The Underline to promote pedestrian and driver safety. His efforts with these organizations focus on education, prevention, and awareness. The Underline is a multi-phase project dedicated to creating community gathering spaces and promoting pedestrian safety by developing the under-utilized land beneath Miami’s Metrorail. Thanks to their efforts, pedestrians, bicyclists and runners alike have a safe area to use. The Underline also provides protection from South Florida’s harsh sunshine, saving countless people from heat-related illnesses.
In March 2023, Mr. Leesfield was elected to The Underline’s Board of Directors, a role that allows him to continue his commitment to enhancing safety on Florida’s roads and throughout the community. Witnessing firsthand the profound impact of these tragic accidents on families, Mr. Leesfield remains deeply driven to make a difference.
Previous Cases
Through innovative trial strategies, tenacious investigative skills and a deep understanding of the law, Leesfield & Partners relentlessly works to achieve exceptional results.
In the case of a 27-year-old motorcyclist who suffered severe and life-altering injuries due to a defect with his kickstand, the firm obtained a $19.8 million award. As our client was traveling on his motorcycle, the kickstand suddenly engaged, causing it to spin out of control and rendered him a high-level quadriplegic.
Mr. Leesfield spent approximately two decades working on cases in which clients were severely injured or killed because of issues with a motorcycle kickstand, resulting in manufacturing changes that have saved countless lives.
Previously, Leesfield & Partners obtained an $8.5 million settlement following a $27 million arbitration award for the family of a young woman who was killed by a pickup truck driver while attempting to cross the street. The woman, a wife and mother of two, was visiting Florida from her home in Toronto, Canada, when she was crushed by a pickup truck. The driver in that case claimed to not have seen her.
A pedestrian-involved incident handled by the firm resulted in the maximum recovery amount of $6 million awarded to our injured client. In that case, a woman was walking back to her office following a midday break when she was struck by a truck making an illegal left turn whose driver claimed not to see her in the marked crosswalk. The woman had severe injuries, including skull fractures and brain hemorrhages as a result of the driver’s negligence.
A case involving a bicyclist who was hit while stopped on the shoulder of the Overseas Highway in Key West resulted in a $5,350,000 settlement for the client. In that case, the bicyclist who was stopped on the side of the road was hit by a driver who was distracted by their car’s GPS.
A Key West crash that drastically impacted the life of a prominent local businessman resulted in a record verdict. In that case, our client had the green light at an intersection when an ambulance at a red light unexpectedly plowed through the road and hit him. In the crash, he was thrown into a cement wall, resulting in permanent injuries.
The ambulance driver claimed he was on his way to an emergency and had the right of way, however, this driver failed to deploy the necessary lights and sirens. Without these indicators, our client had no idea that the ambulance would not stop when at the red light and so he proceeded to cross the intersection.
The firm previously recovered $3 million for a mother and son injured in a bicycle incident.
In a previous case involving a scooter accident, the firm obtained a $1 million award.
Partner Justin B. Shapiro is representing multiple clients who were seriously injured while crossing the street in separate South Florida crashes.
Those cases are ongoing.
Recently, Leesfield & Partners filed suit in the case of a man in a wheelchair who was hit by a speeding car. His severe injuries resulted in doctors being forced to amputate his leg. Carlos A. Fabano, a Trial Lawyer with the firm, is handling the ongoing case.
