FLORIDA — After nearly two decades on the run, Leydis Menendez Abdala, 52, has been arrested in connection with the 2006 DUI crash that killed Gloria Marcia Hall, a 39-year-old mother of two, in Hialeah, Florida.
Authorities say Menendez Abdala was captured in Mexico and extradited back to Miami-Dade County last week, where she now faces charges of vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter.
According to Hialeah police, the fatal crash occurred around 4 a.m. on August 12, 2006, when Menendez Abdala ran a flashing red light at 68th Street, striking Hall’s vehicle. Hall died at the scene, while Menendez Abdala was airlifted to the hospital.
Police say she later admitted to being impaired in a hospital interview. However, before charges could be formally filed, she vanished. Prosecutors allege that Menendez Abdala was dating someone inside the Hialeah Police Department, who tipped her off about the toxicology results. She fled to Mexico on September 10, 2006.
For 19 years, Hall’s family sought justice. Her brother, Miami Police Commander Joaquin Freire, recalled the heartbreak of informing his family of Gloria’s death. “The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is sit my mom down, my dad, and her daughters… and tell them, ‘your mom died this morning,’” he said.
Menendez Abdala was finally located and brought back to Florida by U.S. Marshals. Her attorney has entered a not guilty plea, and she remains in custody awaiting further court proceedings.
“This arrest is a long overdue step toward justice,” Freire stated. “While nothing can erase our pain, knowing Gloria’s case has not been forgotten brings us strength and peace.”
