One Dead after Suspected Police Chase
One person has been killed while another has been hospitalized after what witnesses say was a police chase that ended in a fatal crash on Monday. Fifty-five-year-old Monica Patterson died after a suspect crashed into the passenger side of the car she was in.
In a statement from Miami-Dade police officials, however, they claim that police officers were not in pursuit at the time of the crash. According to the Robbery Intervention Unit of the Miami-Dade Police Department, officers were investigating a suspicious-looking black GMC Denali.
When undercover officers pulled up behind the SUV, the suspect sped off. The suspects then ran through a stop sign and crashed into the side of a red Ford Taurus between 176th Street and Southwest 107th Avenue.
When police lost sight of the vehicle, they radioed other officers to be on the lookout for the Denali. According to Miami-Dade Police Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, “that’s when they get reports that the accident occurred.”
Miami-Dade Police reported that they were told by witnesses to the crash that the first officers on the scene who arrived were undercover officers, and they did not arrive until two minutes after the crash. According to Zabaleta, investigators do not believe that there was any kind of police chase in progress prior to the accident.
The driver of the Ford Taurus was airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center and is currently listed in critical condition.
Witnesses to the crash say that the SUV was going at an excessive rate of speed when it hit the other vehicle. The suspect in the SUV got out of their vehicle immediately following the crash and fled on foot.
The suspect remains at large. Officials are uncertain if they are armed and dangerous. When the police ran the license plate for the SUV, there was no registration for the vehicle in the state of Florida.
Neighbors in the area of the accident insist that the vehicle was being pursued but police were at fault because they failed to alert anyone of the chase through use of lights or sirens so that innocent bystanders could get out of the way.
Accidents that are directly caused by high-speed police chases are far more common than most people believe No one sets out on the road with the intention of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. However, serious and even fatal accidents are caused by police chases and make them a significant cause of many automobile accident injuries. When a criminal is trying to escape being stopped and the police are in pursuit, there is often little thought of other innocent drivers or pedestrians. Incidents involving police and other types of emergency vehicles can lead to serious accidents that often involve damage of personal property, personal injuries, or death. These injuries can happen not only to the officers of the law and the suspects that are in the chase, but also to unsuspecting civilians, drivers and innocent bystanders as well. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to tragic consequences as it did in this tragic case.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured by an accident as a direct result of a police chase, give us a call with the details of your case. Our attorneys are highly experienced in accident cases such as this and they will not only give you good advice, they can prepare your case to get you the most in compensation or losses from accidents that were no fault of your own.
Expenses such as medical expenses, funeral costs, loss of income, or potential increase in insurance rates can affect you long after the accident. Sometimes there are definite time limitations when a case against a municipality, city or state agency can be filed. We can get your paperwork started so that your case can move forward quickly. Our lawyers are focused on accident cases such as this and have argued thousands of them in the Florida courts. We are here to help. Your initial consultation with one of our attorneys is confidential and without cause or obligation to you.