Michelle Alysia Shore, a freshman pre-law student, was killed while driving home on Interstate 95 in the early morning hours Feb. 24 after seeing a movie in Coconut Grove with a friend. She was 18.
The Miami Herald reported Tuesday that Shore had been identified as the victim of the accident, which took place at 2:50 a.m.
Sgt. Mark Wyscoky, public affairs officers for the Florida Highway Patrol, told The Miami Hurricane Wednesday that the suspect, 26-year-old Ramon Herrera, was still listed in critical condition after crashing his Honda into Shore’s 2002 Dodge Neon.
The Herald reported the following last week:
Michelle was driving back home to Sunrise after seeing a movie when Herrera, who was driving southbound in the northbound lanes, struck her car near Pembroke Road in Hollywood. Shore’s car immediately burst into flames.
Herrera, who is from Hollywood, was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital.
He has record of past traffic violations, including a license suspension in 2002, according to the Broward County clerk of court’s web site.
Michelle’s sister, Danielle, spoke with The Hurricane via telephone Saturday.
“She had a presence about her,” said Danielle, 21, who attends Florida Atlantic University. “She got along with everyone.”
Although they went to different schools, they kept in touch over the phone everyday.
“I miss her voice,” Danielle said, “and I miss talking to her.”
Michelle was born in New Jersey on June 14, 1988. Her father, Richard, is from Boston. Her mother, Bettina, is from Honduras. Her sister said she was proud of her Latin and Jewish background.
Danielle noted that Michelle’s second grade teacher was killed in the very same way. From that point on, she said, her younger sister was strongly against drinking and driving under the influence of alcohol.
At the time of publication, no official report had been as to whether or not the Herrera was intoxicated.
Her sister also said she loved UM, where she was a full-time student with a full scholarship. She also worked two part-time jobs, one at Cole Haan in the Village at Merrick Park.
Danielle praised everything about her, saying she had accomplished so much as such a young age and had a good head on her shoulders: “She was 18 going on 30.”
“She was like a shining star,” Danielle said. “She had a presence about her.
She added, “If you didn’t know her, it’s hard to [explain her] because she was an angel. It’s such a shame she’s gone at such a young age.”
Her sister also talked about how people loved her, noting that hundreds of people, of diverse backgrounds, attended her funeral Thursday.
Shore is the fifth UM student to die since this past summer. Her memorial service and funeral took place Thursday.
A memorial page has been created in her honor at myspace.com/michelleshore.
Greg Linch may be contacted at g.linch@umiami.edu.