HIALEAH, Fla. — When news first broke of a reckless joyride in Hialeah that rattled a quiet neighborhood on the evening of April 23, 2024, few could have imagined the deep and lasting sorrow it would leave behind. But months later, the family of 66‑year‑old Liliana Hernandez Molina confirmed she had died from her injuries, making her the third member of her family to perish in that single tragic moment.
Just before 8 p.m. that April night, police say 15‑year‑old Maykoll Santiesteban took his father’s car without permission and drove it at dangerously high speeds through the 400 block of Southeast Fifth Street in Hialeah. Surveillance and crash reconstruction data later showed the car was traveling more than twice the speed limit when it slammed into a vehicle carrying three women from the same family.
The impact was immediate and devastating. 39‑year‑old Yarina Garcia Hernandez and her 53‑year‑old aunt, Gloria Hernandez, died at the scene. Liliana, Garcia’s mother, was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition, where she fought for her life for more than five months before succumbing to her injuries in late September.
Family, friends, and neighbors still speak of Liliana in warm, tender terms. Known affectionately as “Lili,” she was the heart of her household — a mom and grandmother whose gentle smile and steady presence carried into every room she entered. In the weeks after the crash, loved ones held vigils near the site where it all happened, laying flowers and lighting candles in memory of the women they had lost.
The teenager, now charged as an adult, eventually entered a guilty plea in Miami‑Dade court to three counts of vehicular homicide and driving without a license causing death. Prosecutors said he could face decades in prison, though his attorney has argued for a youthful offender sentence.
For the Hernandez family, the wounds feel as fresh today as they did the night of the crash. Siblings and extended relatives talk about holiday gatherings that will never happen and birthdays they can’t celebrate together. “We can’t say merry Christmas like always,” one family member said outside the courtroom, her voice trembling with grief.
Hialeah residents have echoed that sentiment, saying the loss has rippled through the community. Strangers have left notes and photos at the crash site. Neighbors still pause a moment when they drive past. There’s a shared sense that lives were cut short too soon — and that the memory of Liliana, Yarina, and Gloria deserves more than sorrow.
Through all the pain, the family insists they want Liliana and her loved ones remembered for who they were: people who gave freely of their affection, who laughed and loved and built a life of meaning. In their hearts, every memory keeps her spirit alive.
