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FIU Student Killed In SUV Crash On The Way To Game

November 11, 2005

Scott Brenner, 26, of Pembroke Pines, was killed when the Ford Explorer he was in rolled over several times on Interstate 95 south of Golden Glades in North Miami-Dade.

Brenner and five friends in the SUV were headed for the Orange Bowl to see the University of Miami football team play the University of South Florida. Witnesses told Florida Highway Patrol investigators the driver of the Explorer, Stephen Spencer, 24, was speeding and driving recklessly about 6 p.m. when he slammed on his brakes when traffic backed up, said FHP Lt. Pat Santangelo. As the SUV rolled, Brenner was thrown from it and died on the highway.

Three other passengers from the SUV are in the hospital, one with severe back injuries, another for a neck injury, and one for cuts and bruises, according to Santangelo. Spencer and another passenger, Thomas James Maxin, 23, of Plantation, were not seriously hurt.

FHP is investigating whether alcohol played a role in the crash, Santangelo said. He said investigators know there was ''a lot of alcohol'' in the SUV. As the vehicle tumbled, it rolled over the back of an Infiniti, breaking the rear window. Beer poured out of the SUV and into the Infiniti, soaking the interior, Santangelo said.

''It's sad when your kids go before you,'' said Brenner's father, Clifford Brenner. ''He was a great human being and his life was just beginning.'' Clifford Brenner said he always told his son to wear a seat belt. ''I couldn't believe he got in there and didn't have a seat belt on,'' said Brenner. ''I warned him never to do that.''

Scott Brenner, who graduated from Nova High School in Davie, had worked at the bar at Gatsby's in Davie. ''He planned on moving to Israel to do graduate work, and I believe he was interested in joining the Israeli army,'' said Brady Morales, a manager at Gatsby's. ''He was really looking forward to Rosh Hashana. He was trying to be a good Jewish kid.'' Brenner was a hard worker who could crack people up with jokes, Morales said. An avid football fan, he had season tickets to Hurricanes games. ''He was loved by everybody here,'' Morales said. ''He was a guy who had accomplished a lot of goals, but wanted to achieve a lot of other things.'' Clifford Brenner said he hoped his son's friends would recover. ''It's such a traumatic thing,'' Brenner said. ''They were good American kids.''

Charges are pending against Spencer, the Explorer's driver, according to Santangelo. Spencer is the son of noted South Florida clinical and forensic psychologist John Spencer, who died in May.