MIAMI — Long after his son died in a wrong-way crash, Frank Urrutia mounted a video camera on his car trunk and drove a very specific 2.8 miles on Florida’s Turnpike near the county line between Broward and Miami-Dade.

The highway span was the exact ground covered last year by Sunshine Perez, who had made two trips to liquor stores to buy Patron tequila before driving the wrong way onto a Turnpike exit ramp. She then sped down the Turnpike Extension in the wrong direction in her 2010 Honda Element SUV and crashed head-on into the 2016 Honda Civic driven by Urrutia’s son. The crash happened at 1:50 in the morning on Jan. 9, 2025.

Broward Judge Peter Holden sentenced Perez last week to 20 years in prison for her reckless and fatal mistake. But Frank and Tiffany Urrutia’s legal fight on behalf of their dead son, 23-year-old paramedic Ezequiel “Zeke” Urrutia, isn’t over. They are suing the Florida Department of Transportation and a host of companies involved with the state’s wrong-way driver detection system, which they say wasn’t working properly.

A spokesman for FDOT did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Herald.

Seeking to hold FDOT, others accountable

Though Frank Urrutia said he feels a great sense of relief — “like a ton of bricks have been removed off my back” now that the sentencing is behind him — he said this next court fight is important to prevent another tragedy. Attorney Skip Pita filed the lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Dec. 30. An amended complaint was filed earlier this month. The negligence lawsuit names FDOT and 14 companies as defendants.

“The criminal case held the impaired driver accountable. This civil case asks whether there were other factors, or failures that contributed to Zeke’s death and whether those responsible should also be held accountable,” Urrutia said in a written statement. “Nothing will ever bring Zeke back, but if this lawsuit leads to safer roads and helps prevent another family from suffering this kind of loss, then Zeke’s legacy will continue saving lives.”

Fatal wrong-way crashes are a growing issue in the United States, a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety from 2014 to 2023 found. According to that study, 5,730 people in the U.S. died in wrong-way crashes on divided highways in that time frame.

Driving his son’s final path himself, Urrutia was convinced that if the wrong-way detectors had been working that night, his son would still be alive.

The system, when working properly, flashes warning signs to the wrong-way driver, alerts law enforcement to respond and displays digital messages to warn other drivers.

Perez, 46, a former certified nursing assistant living in Hialeah, entered the off-ramp at Northwest 27th Avenue/University Drive and drove the wrong way onto the Turnpike Extension. She crashed into Urrutia head-on not far from the Red Road exit in Miramar. A non-drinker, Zeke Urrutia was driving up from the Miami area, headed to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near Hollywood, his dad said.

Four prior crashes by driver

In addition to her 20-year sentence, Perez will be on probation for 10 years after she serves her time. She will not be allowed to drive during the probationary 10 years, and must submit to weekly drug testing.

Court records said that when she killed Urrutia, she’d already been involved in four prior crashes in 29 years, all of which involved problematic driving.

She pled no contest in March and avoided a trial.

Perez’s blood tested positive for alcohol, methamphetamine and oxycodone. During the sentencing hearing, she apologized.

©2026 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.