Three-year-old fraternal twins died in the early hours of Friday after they were found unconscious in a car on Interstate 95 in northern Miami-Dade County, shortly after the woman behind the wheel attempted suicide, police said.

At around 2 a.m., police received a 911 call from a passerby reporting an unresponsive child, followed by another call reporting a second unconscious child, police said.

“One person is performing CPR on a child,” a dispatcher told Miami-Dade Fire Rescue paramedics over the radio.

When officers arrived at the northbound exit ramp for the Florida Turnpike extension, the woman driving the vehicle had just gotten out and “went over the ramp railing,” landing on the tracks of the Tri-Rail transit system that runs under the Golden Glades interchange, police spokesman Det. Andre Martin told reporters near the scene of the accident.

“The mother jumped off the highway; she’s lying on the tracks,” a first responder told the dispatcher. “The woman who jumped is still alive,” another said moments later.

In a statement later Friday, police said her jump was a “suicide attempt.”

Rescue workers found the twins, a boy and a girl, in the back seat of the car and took them to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead, Martin said. The children had no visible marks or wounds, Det. Angel Rodriguez told the Miami Herald.

Milson Cadet confirmed in an interview with the Herald Friday night that the children in the car were his. Standing visibly shaken in the doorway of his North Miami Beach apartment, he said his son’s name is Milendhere Gabriel Napoleon Cadet and his daughter’s name is Milenjhit Gabriella Napoleon Cadet.

A family friend said the driver was Shirlene Alcime, Milson Cadet’s wife.

“I don’t know if she’s going through something or not,” said the friend, who asked to remain anonymous. “I’m trying to figure out what’s happening.”

In the interview, conducted in Creole and translated by the Herald, Cadet tried to explain what he knew:

“On Thursday, I went to work at 5 a.m. and came home at 10:45 a.m. I didn’t see my wife at home. I didn’t see the kids. I went to the office to check. I didn’t see her in the office and started calling. She never answered and I didn’t know what had happened. I have an 18-year-old child who lives in the house with me. I told the child, ‘If I don’t find her, I have no choice but to call the police.’

“I don’t know what happened,” he added. “She doesn’t have any mental health issues. She’s someone who works… who works in the Haitian community. We have… a business. I don’t know what happened.”

Alcime was admitted to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital in critical condition.

Authorities closed the I-95 on-ramp and the westbound exit of State Road 826 on Friday morning.

“Due to police operations on the tracks, Tri-Rail trains were delayed for several hours,” the railway company announced on X (formerly Twitter).

Current financial problems

The family lived in Prestige Estates in North Miami Beach.

The apartment complex promotes modern living. In the complex with its freshly painted buildings, children played on Friday evening, jumped into a pool and ran along the sidewalks.

Alcime lived in the complex for at least a year and had financial disagreements with the landlord twice, most recently in September, according to Miami-Dade County court records.

In both cases, Prestige Boardwalk LLC., owner of the complex, sued Alcime and threatened to evict her if she did not reimburse them for the unpaid rent, court records show. In both cases, the two parties reached an agreement and payment was made.

In the year between the two cases, Alcime’s monthly rent payments increased by about $800, the documents show.

Due to additional financial stress, Alcime still has an open eviction case against another landlord, RNM Investment Group, Inc., filed in early 2023.

According to the Florida Division of Corporations, Alcime is the registered agent for 10 companies, including Bazou Tax Multiservices, LLC, which she owns with Cadet.

On her Facebook page, she offers a variety of services including life insurance, investments, credit repair, and notary services.

Miami Herald writers Charles Rabin and Jacqueline Charles contributed to this report.

If you or someone you know is thinking about self-harm, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.