Woman recounts how she learned her son died in a Miami Gardens crash

MIAMI - The grieving mother of a man who died in a Miami Gardens crash last Tuesday said she never imagined she would be the one to bury him.

Mekhi Hoosein Quiles, 21, was killed when the driver of an SUV struck his car at Miami Gardens Drive and NW 22nd Avenue.

Narisa Hoosein said her son died the day before he was accepted into his dream hospitality program at St. Thomas University.

"He accomplished so much and I'm so proud of him," she said.

She said learned of the crash because Mekhi's phone alerted her.

"I got a text message on my phone at 4:10 in the morning from an iPhone that detected a crash on Miami Gardens and 22nd Avenue," said Hoosein.

She said she immediately hopped out of bed and went to check on her son.

"I showed up like I will show up for anything in his life. I showed up so fast," said Hoosein.

Miami Gardens police told her the driver of the SUV, a minor, ran a red light and struck Quiles' vehicle.

"To all the young drivers out there, driving is a privilege, a car is the most dangerous weapon. You have to understand that when you're driving, you're not driving to have fun and speed and go faster," said Hoosein.

Thursday night, Hoosein, Mekhi's grandparents, and his friends held a candlelight vigil in his honor.

"I'm getting to an age where obviously I'm going to be going down and he would have been the one to bury me. I'm not supposed to take him to his grave," said Quiles' grandfather.

Quiles worked at a McDonald's while waiting to get into St. Thomas. When his co-workers found out he had died, they quickly raised $10,000 to help the family pay for the funeral.