Cops: Man in accident left ‘sitting in a blaze of fire’

The driver who caused a fiery crash that killed a man tried to conceal his involvement by taking the license plate off his own wrecked car, grabbing his belongings and then running away, according to Miramar police.

The crash that happened about 2 a.m. on Sept. 16 along the 9400 block of Miramar Parkway left Antonio Javier Gort, 26, dead.

According to police, Joel Osceola Arroyo, 21, was driving a white 2016 Chevrolet Impala LT more than 50 mph over the posted speed

limit when he crashed into the back of the 2015 Audi A8L that Gort was driving.

After the crash, Arroyo’s car traveled several hundred feet, hit a tree and sideswiped a wall before coming to a stop in the middle of Miramar Parkway. That’s when, according to police, Arroyo removed the tag from his car, took his personal items and he and a front seat passenger fled from the scene.

“Mr Osceola Arroyo showed no remorse and did not make any attempt to aid Mr. Gort who was sitting in a blaze of fire inside the Audi,” a Miramar police arrest report said.

A passenger who had been in the back seat of the Impala Arroyo was driving was able to help investigators piece together what happened and eventually identify Arroyo, of Hollywood.

The passenger told police they had been heading to a Waffle House in west Pembroke Pines when he fell asleep in the back seat. He woke up after the crash as the car was spinning around and its airbags were deploying. He told police that he ran up to the burning Audi but was unable to get close because it was engulfed in flames. When he went back to the Impala to get his cellphone, Arroyo and the other man were already gone, the police report said.

The evidence and subsequent crash scene investigation showed that the Impala Arroyo was driving was traveling at 96 mph when it struck the Audi, the arrest report said. The roadway’s posted speed limit is 40 mph.

Gort “would have likely survived if the white Chevy Impala was being operated within the speed limit,” the arrest report said.

Osceola Arroyo was arrested Friday. He’s facing charges that include failing to stop at an accident involving death, vehicular homicide and evidence tampering.

During a brief court appearance Monday, Broward Judge John D. Fry ordered that Osceola Arroyo remain jailed without bond because of previous criminal cases that were pending when he was arrested.

Arroyo