One motorcyclist died and another is in critical condition after they crashed on U.S. Highway 27 in Weston on Sunday while racing each other, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
Mario Vasquez, 63, and Asiel Mena-Echevarria, 35, both of Hialeah in Miami-Dade County, were riding separate motorcycles north in the 4400 block of U.S. 27 shortly after 4:30 p.m. when they sideswiped and collided, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday.
Both men and their motorcycles fell to the ground and slid several hundred feet across the road. Mena-Echevarria’s motorcycle caught fire in a center median, lighting up a large area of grass, according to the news release.
They were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood with life-threatening injuries, and Vasquez was pronounced dead. As of Monday afternoon, Mena-Echevarria remained in critical condition.
Deputies are investigating.
Between 2018 and so far in 2025, more than 13,600 citations for either street racing or participating as a spectator have been issued, according to statistics from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Nearly 2,000 citations were issued in 2022, reaching a high of 3,057 in 2024. So far in 2025, about 1,300 citations have been issued in Florida.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in May 2024 that increased penalties for street racing, street “takeovers” and stunt driving, including higher fines and in some cases of repeat violations, enhancing the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony. Lawmakers in Florida have passed legislation numerous times in recent years aiming to make penalties stiffer. The latest law enacted built on the previous one passed in 2022.