Family of Milagros Ortiz announces lawsuit after fatal OPD crash

Orlando, FL – On July 9, the family of Milagros “Millie” Ortiz, alongside attorney Ben Crump, announced plans to file a $92 million lawsuit following a t-bone collision by an Orlando Police Department officer on January 18, which resulted in her death.

This comes after the state attorney’s office for Orange and Osceola Counties declined to charge the officer responsible with vehicular manslaughter.

“I am here to say that we will not stop saying my grandmother’s name, Milagros B. Ortiz, until justice is served,” her granddaughter Ashley Rodriguez said.

Ortiz, 92 years old, was in the passenger seat returning from her weekly Saturday night game of bingo. Footage obtained from a camera at the intersection of Semoran Boulevard and Hoffner Avenue shows an OPD vehicle stopped at a red light. OPD officer Andrew McKuhen reportedly saw another vehicle make an illegal U-turn, which prompted him to turn on his red and blue lights and begin driving through the intersection. However, the lights that came on were not flashing, but static, and an eyewitness reported not hearing the vehicle’s siren go off.

As the OPD vehicle crossed the middle of the intersection, the emergency lights shut off and the vehicle accelerated, slamming into the driver’s side of the car. Ortiz passed away at a local hospital several days later because of the crash injuries. Video from a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store shows the emergency lights on the vehicle coming back on 27 seconds after the crash.

According to OPD’s own preliminary crash report, the police vehicle “was at fault for the collision due to failure to yield right of way.” However, in June, after months of dodging questions from local news reporters pertaining to the crash, Chief Eric Smith appeared on a podcast and blamed the crash on faulty vehicle emergency lights.

“We will be filing a $92 million lawsuit against the Orlando Police Department, the maintenance company, and the product manufacturer because somebody is going to be held accountable,” Crump said.

During the press conference, Ortiz’s family surrounded the podium along with several large portraits depicting Ortiz. She was a beloved matriarch and a vibrant soul. Family members, including daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, spoke about who Ortiz was and her character.

“My mother was an angel,” daughter Judy Santiago said, adding, “If you all would have known her, you all would have fell in love with my mother.” Ortiz was full of life and vigor, and was known to all as the life of the party.

Ortiz’s family acknowledged that she is not the only victim of OPD traffic-related deaths in recent years, adding that they want to fight for change to ensure no other families experience such a tragedy.

“I don’t know when our hearts are going to be healed, if ever,” Santiago said, “but justice for my mother, justice for Millie Ortiz.”

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