Man charged after fatal hit-and-run kills two students in Miami Beach

A 42-year-old man is facing multiple criminal charges after police say he struck and killed two college students in a hit-and-run crash in Miami Beach before fleeing the scene.

Adan Negron-Morris was arrested Thursday and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in connection with the deaths of 22-year-old Sarisa Kongduang and 24-year-old Greatgomon Laowatdhanasapya.

“This is truly a very sad and tragic case,” said Miami Beach Police spokesperson Christopher Bess.

According to police, the incident unfolded Wednesday night when Negron-Morris was allegedly driving a black Nissan Sentra without headlights and in a reckless manner along 71st Street toward Collins Avenue. Officers on high-visibility patrol and multiple 911 callers reported the dangerous driving.

Authorities said the vehicle then traveled northbound toward 73rd Street, where it struck the two pedestrians as they were crossing the roadway.

“The driver had no regard for human life,” Bess said.

Police described the impact as severe, noting that the force of the collision bent the car’s hood into the windshield. Witnesses rushed to assist the victims following the crash.

Investigators said Negron-Morris continued driving to the area of 74th Street and Collins Avenue, where he stopped the vehicle and fled on foot into a nearby Walgreens. A witness intervened and held him until officers arrived, and he was taken into custody without incident.

Detectives said that after being handcuffed, Negron-Morris claimed he suffers from mental health issues and told officers he crashed while attempting to take his own life.

The victims were transported in critical condition to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where they later died. Indiana University officials confirmed that Laowatdhanasapya graduated in 2024, while Kongduang was a current student.

Negron-Morris faces two counts of vehicular homicide and two counts of leaving the scene of a crash involving death.

He appeared in court Friday, where Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy S. Glazer set bond at $1 million and ordered him placed under Level 1 house arrest, the strictest form of home confinement. The judge also ordered that he refrain from consuming alcohol and from driving.

The case remains under investigation.