Julius Bernstein, a 27-year-old Florida man, was sentenced to 45 years in prison on January 23, 2026, for a fiery 2022 hit-and-run crash that killed Cynthia Orsa Telliz and her daughters, 15-year-old Sophia Saidi and 12-year-old Maria Saidi, near Miami. Driving a Dodge Charger at 109 mph in a 30 mph zone on the John F. Kennedy Causeway, he struck Telliz’s Infiniti during a left turn, causing it to erupt in flames; first responders pulled Telliz out but couldn’t reach the girls, who “burned alive.”
Crash and Flight
The collision occurred around 9:30 p.m. on June 27, 2022, at the Kennedy Causeway and Harbor Island Drive intersection in North Bay Village. Bernstein, injured and leaving a blood trail, fled without aiding victims or calling 911, evading capture until arrested in North Carolina in 2023 via an arrest warrant. ​
Trial and Sentencing
A jury convicted him in September 2025 of two counts each of vehicular homicide and leaving a crash scene causing death, based on dashcam footage and DNA evidence. He received three consecutive 15-year terms plus 10 years probation.
Family Impact
Samir Saidi, Telliz’s husband and the girls’ father, told the court, “My family—their lives were taken from me. I cannot forgive this individual.” Victim’s brother Omar Orstelliz lamented their isolation in final moments, a daily torment.
