Florida Keys deputy endured hours of surgery to save leg after pinned by cars, cops say

Doctors performed surgery for more than eight hours Thursday to try to save the leg of a Florida Keys deputy who became trapped between his patrol car and another vehicle two days earlier after a woman who police say was heavily intoxicated slammed her car into an active traffic stop.

While the recovery process could take months or even years, so far, the surgery appears to be a success, Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay told the Herald.

“He came out of it well. They’re trying to get the blood flowing throughout the leg,” Ramsay said. “They’re confident in his recovery aspects. We’re hopeful he’ll make a speedy recovery and get back to the job he loves.”

The incident unfolded around 10:40 p.m. Tuesday at mile marker 87 on U.S. 1 in Islamorada in the Upper Keys, where deputy Julian Garcia pulled over the driver of a Ford Fusion, who had an active arrest warrant for failing to make a mandated court appearance, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report and press release issued by the sheriff’s office.

While the deputy and the man he pulled over were standing on the side of the highway next to the cars, a Toyota Prius, driven by 26-year-old Alexandra Baraga, crashed into the patrol car, according to the FHP report. The impact caused the patrol car to lurch forward.

Garcia pushed the man he was questioning out of the way, but, he became trapped between his patrol car and the Fusion, Trooper D.J. Schlosser wrote in his report.

Deputies were able to free Garcia, 26 — who’s served with the sheriff’s office since February 2022 — and apply a tourniquet to his left leg until paramedics arrived, law enforcement sources.

Monroe County Fire Rescue’s helicopter ambulance flew Garcia to Jackson South Medical Center in Miami-Dade County. The man Garcia pushed out of the way, Andrew Gibson, 20, of Homestead, was taken to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier for treatment of minor injuries he sustained in the crash, according to the report.

After he was discharged from the hospital early Wednesday morning, he was booked into county jail on the failure to appear charge. He was released after posting his $2,000 bond, according to jail records. He could not be reached for comment.

According to the sheriff’s office, Baraga had a blood alcohol level of .310, which is almost four times the legal limit. Schlosser wrote in his report that she voluntarily submitted a blood sample to be tested for drinking. He said she emitted a strong smell of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and her speech was “slurred and thick tongued.”

She faces one count of felony driving under the influence, and four misdemeanor counts of the same charge. Baraga was released at 9 p.m. Wednesday from county jail in Key West, where she was being held on a bond of $95,000. She could not be reached for comment.

Her first scheduled court appearance to face her one count of felony driving under the influence and four misdemeanor counts of the same charge is April 23.

Ramsay said the incident highlights the importance of Florida’s “move over” law, which requires drivers approaching police and other emergency vehicles parked on the side of the road with their overhead emergency lights flashing to either move over a lane, or to slow down 20 mph less than the posted speed limit.

“This is exactly what the Move Over law was designed to prevent,” he said.

With all the ridesharing options available today, and taxis — as well as the Village of Islamorada’s FreeBee service — there’s less of an excuse than ever for getting behind the wheel after drinking, the sheriff added.

“We’re not saying not to drink or have a good time. But, this was 100-percent preventable,” Ramsay said. “For the cost of a taxi or rideshare, she jeopardized the lives of everyone on the road.”

The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash.