Girl dies days before 8th birthday after driver, 92, crashes car while confusing break and accelerator

A girl died days before her eighth birthday after a 92-year-old driver crashed her car while confusing her brake and accelerator.

Stephanie Alonso, 7, and her mother were walking in Miami on Monday afternoon when an SUV driven by the 92-year-old driver hit the girl, and marginally missed the mom. The grieving family are mourning their daughter's death while calling on stricter rules for older drivers.

Her father Joany Figueredo, in an interview with WTVJ said: "She hit my daughter, and she hit the wall. She got out of the car and acted like nothing happened.” Stephanie was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital hospital in critical condition with horrific head injuries before dying four days later - days before her 8th birthday on September 21.

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The driver reportedly told police her brakes had stopped working, however surveillance videos reportedly showed how she pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, according to WFOR. d Mike Vega, public information officer for Miami Police said: "Instead of pressing the brakes, the 92-year-old accelerates, and we can see that the vehicle accelerates and goes right toward them."

Miami Police have not revealed the identity of the driver, except for her age. "We issued a ticket for careless driving, but we did not issue it to her yet because we have to wait on the outcome of the case," Vega added. In a separate crash this week a man who was stuck in his sinking truck was saved when two kind strangers dived in and kept his head above water .

It occurred in Florida's Space Coast on Saturday, September 7, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said. According to a news release from the sheriff's office, several 911 callers claimed to have witnessed a pickup smash through a guardrail on the Pineda Causeway and fall into the lake.

Upon reaching the truck through the water, Deputy Bradley McLaughlin discovered that the driver's lower body was lodged inside the cab, and two onlookers were "holding the driver's head above water, partially out of the vehicle." Don Cobb and Ariana Ebert were recognized as the good Samaritans.

“As the car continued to sink they did what they could to keep his head above the water and attempted to provide life-saving measures,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in the release. “At one point, Ariana even dove under the water to see if she could free him!! Deputy James Basille soon joined in the rescue efforts as he entered the water and the driver was finally able to be pulled from the sinking car.”

After the motorist was brought to the shore by deputies and witnesses, deputy Noah Kane started CPR, according to officials. “The driver was transported to the hospital where he remains in ICU,” the sheriff’s office said.