Street renamed in memory of 2 teens

Pembroke Pines intersection renamed

PEMBROKE PINES — There are no crosswalks or speed bumps or traffic signals where two teenage girls lost their lives, but there is a memorial commemorating their deaths at a quiet yet dangerous intersection in Pembroke Pines.

The corner of Taft Street and Northwest 125th Avenue is now named for Alexandra Thomas-Abrahams, 14, and Casandra “Cassie” Tianna Torres, 15, who died after being struck by cars there.

The signage was unveiled Tuesday morning as a tribute to the girls and a reminder to drivers who zip along the narrow roads nestled between C.B. Smith Park, the Pembroke Falls residential community, Flanagan High School, and the Lil’ Rascals Academy pre-school and day care center.

“Along this stretch from Flamingo Road to the entrance

to our community, people are in a rush to get home and they’re just blazing through,” said Enrique Jesus Torres, Cassie’s father.

Alexandra and Cassie were both Flanagan students.

Alexandra was struck Oct. 20, 2011, on the way to school about 7 a.m. in the darkness. She was crossing Taft Street when she was hit by a 2002 blue Honda Odyssey. Driver Debra Ruesga stayed at the scene, police said.

Cassie was hit by a Mercedes Benz C230 about 5 p.m. Nov. 12, 2018, while riding her bicycle to a Starbucks with a friend. Amanda Hernandez of Pembroke Pines, remained at the scene of the crash, police said.

Both girls died at Memorial Regional Hospital.

Their families want crosswalks and traffic lights installed at this corner, but that’s up to Broward County, said Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortiz.

“The county controls that,” he said, Tuesday. “We have not had the pleasure of having this done yet.”

Alexandra’s aunt Kathy Holley and other family members are working to change that.

“The county works under pressure like everybody else,” she said. “So it’s just a matter of the amount of pressure we put on them.”

More than signs and lights, the families just want people to slow down and pay attention

when they drive.

“Every day is really painful,” said Natalia Torres, Cassie’s mother. “We don’t want this to happen to any other child.”

CARLINE JEAN/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL PHOTOS The grandmother of Alexandra Abrahams, 14, is seen with a picture of her during a dedication of a street in memory of Alexandra Abrahams and Cassie Tianna Torres, 15, on Tuesday.

City officials, friends and families gather to honor Abrahams, 14, and Torres, 15, who lost their lives in separate traffic fatalities.

CARLINE JEAN/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL The City of Pembroke Pines dedicated the intersection of Taft Street and Northwest 125 Avenue to honor the memories of Alexandra Abrahams, 14, and Cassie Tianna Torres, 15, who were struck by cars and later died.