Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Name Not Disclosed
Age : 17
Gender : Female
Race : Unknown
Date : 08/13/2022
Location : County Road 835 at Roberts Road
City : Clewiston
County : Hendry
State : Florida
Agency : Hendry County Sheriff's Office
Officer(s) :Not Disclosed
Cause of Death : Vehicle
Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
REASON FOR CHASE: The available public reporting does not disclose why deputies initially attempted to stop the vehicle.
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NARRATIVE:
On 08/13/2022, an unidentified 17-year-old girl from Hialeah was killed while riding as a passenger in a 2019 Maserati that crashed into a canal while fleeing Hendry County Sheriff's Office deputies near County Road 835 and Roberts Road outside Clewiston.
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At approximately 2:04 a.m., the Maserati was traveling southbound on County Road 835 at high speed while actively fleeing from the Hendry County Sheriff's Office.
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As the vehicle approached Roberts Road, County Road 835 entered a sharp right-hand curve. The driver failed to negotiate the curve and the Maserati continued straight across the southern shoulder toward a large canal running alongside the roadway.
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The Maserati became airborne, crossed the canal and struck the southern embankment. The vehicle then fell into the canal and came to rest upright along the southern shoreline.
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The 17-year-old passenger and 19-year-old driver Teijo Caden Ray Smith were pronounced dead at the scene by the Hendry County Sheriff's Office. Contemporary reporting identifies the passenger as a 17-year-old girl from Hialeah but does not release her name.
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The Florida Highway Patrol Advanced Investigation and Reconstruction Unit investigated the fatal crash. The available public reporting does not disclose why deputies initially attempted to stop the Maserati or provide a reliable pursuit speed, distance or duration.
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Despite searches using the crash date, Hialeah residence, age, location, Teijo Smith's name, obituary records and funeral/memorial combinations, I have not located a sufficiently reliable public source identifying the 17-year-old passenger.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Hendry County Sheriff's Office did not publicly identify the deputy who initiated the pursuit or the other deputy or deputies involved in the sources located.
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