http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miam...ry/313126.html




No one saw 18-year-old Adrian Gregorio's car veer off the Don Shula Expressway early Sunday and plunge into a canal, Florida Highway Patrol officials said.

He still managed to pull himself out and swim to shore.

Then, he waited alone for help for at least 10 hours in the morning chill before a family found him lying on the grassy embankment next to the water, blood gushing from his head, they said.

They called police, and Gregorio was air-lifted to Ryder Trauma Center. His condition was unavailable Sunday.

Gregorio's 2006 Nissan 350Z sank into a canal just north of Florida's Turnpike and was barely visible to drivers, FHP Lt. Pat Santangelo said.

''If those people hadn't stopped in that particular spot, he may never have been found,'' Santangelo said.

The teen was apparently driving northbound on the Don Shula at about 1:30 a.m. when he swerved off the road, Santangelo said.

THANKS TO AN ANT

Gregorio, who had been reported missing overnight, was found purely by chance -- and thanks to an ant.

At around 11:40 a.m. Sunday, Reynaldo Acosta and his family were driving by the same canal when his 4-year-old son Sebastian complained that an ant was biting him.

Acosta, 42, pulled over to the side of the road near Southwest 117th Avenue so his girlfriend could swat the ant out of the boy's car seat, he said.

When Oskarina Martinez stepped out of the car, she saw Gregorio lying on the grass by the canal. Unable to move, he raised his arm to get their attention, she said.

''Thank God that we stopped there because of that ant,'' Martinez said in Spanish. ``He must have felt so desperate. The truth is that no one could see him.''

Acosta approached the faint teen, who told him he drove his car into the canal hours earlier. Acosta's older son called 911. Acosta also called Gregorio's mother to let her know her son was OK.

When Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived, Gregorio was in and out of consciousness.

''So in a way, the boy owes his life to the ant, partly also to my son, but more importantly to God,'' Acosta said.

ROLE OF SPEEDING

Investigators have not yet determined whether speeding played a role in the accident, but Gregorio was driving fast enough to break through an aluminum guard rail, skid across about 75 feet of grass and land on the far end of the 50-foot wide canal, Santangelo said.

Authorities are unsure if alcohol or drugs were involved in the accident, which is under investigation.

The teen's family declined to speak to The Miami Herald.

 

one less Z owned by a teenager on the streets. mommy and daddy would probably buy him a new one anyway

 

this kid is amazingly lucky

 

What's all this about? Are you saying it's impossible to lose control of your vehicle if you're over 18? That's why they call them "accidents."

 

WHAT!

Another too stupid kid crashes yet another Z that his daddy bought him? Say it isn't so!

 

Aw, the poor Z

 

Glad he was ok. Sad for the Z.

 

Ruthless ---^

 

teenagers should stop crashing cars...its good for insurance

 

you guys are ****ed up with your comments.

 

dam that sucks...

 

Kids that are 18 years of age have more of a tendency to try something stupid to show off and look cool. And they just don't have the necessary driving experience.

 

umm.. yea.. I'd say he was flying.

 

Too bad the Ant was there

 

Considering that they don't even know what happened yet, I'd say it's pretty immature of you all to make such quick assumptions. It's likely that he could've been speeding, but it's also possible that he might not have been. Highway speeds are excessive as it is; 65 to 70 mph could easily send you through a guard rail. That being said, please - every one of you, get in my face and try to tell me that because I'm eighteen, I shouldn't have a Z. I'd like to see how far you'd get.

 

The give away to me... is that he went across 50 ft of water. Your car doesn't skip across water like a stone if you are going slow... it sinks.

Mind you, that is after smashing the guardrail (which should minimize your speed to a slow roll or stopped completely) and then going across 75 feet of grass, which should also slow you down, but after making it through both of those obstacles and then 50 feet of water, come on.

 

300hp sports car, 1:30am, 18 year old, breaking through a guardrail, skidding 75 feet AFTER hitting the rail... I'm no accident reconstruction investigator, but I'm leaning more towards driver error than mechanical failure of the car or enviormental accident.

A cop once told me 50% of the people on the road in the early morning are drunk or at least had a couple, no facts to base that on, just what his experience was. I doubt he was drunk just because he is too young to go to a bar.

 

dbag kid. poor z

 

GTFO, it's a stupid kid. He deserves it.

 

poor car. At least no one died.

From my Emergency Room experience I can say that most (say about 8/10)wrecks after 10pm (at least here) have Alcohol or other drugs involved... And young teens have poor decision making skills...seems like Miami teens are especially good at wrecking sportscars.