A 3-year-old is dead after man drives off with him following argument with boy’s mom
Plantation police have identified the two victims — one of them a 3-year-old boy — who died in a fiery crash that shut down a part of University Drive for about 15 hours Thursday.
The driver was 26-year-old Ryan Yates. The boy, James Oizan-Chapon.
According to news reports, the boy’s grandmother said that Yates had some sort of disagreement with James’ mother before the crash around 3:30 a.m. Thursday in the 400 block of University Drive.
WPLG-ABC 10 reported that the boy’s grandmother, Maria Cid, said her 25-year-old daughter, Yasmin Cid, had an argument with Yates, her boyfriend. She said that Yates grabbed James and drove off with the boy in his mother’s black 2014 Mercedes-Benz.
Maria Cid said her daughter tried to open the car’s door to get the boy out of the vehicle but was unable to do so.
Moments later, the Mercedes smashed into a tree, split in two and burst into flames.
A witness told Miami Herald news partner CBS4 that they heard a woman on the side of the road screaming for help. “I woke up to what sounded like a crash and then I looked outside and I saw the car in flames,” Frances Velasco told the station. “I was about to call 911 and that’s when I heard the sirens coming.” Velasco said she heard a woman screaming, “my baby, my baby” after two “booming sounds.”
Yates was living in Florida City in December 2017 when he was arrested in Broward County and charged with grand theft auto, according to court records.
In November 2018, he was charged with violating his probation and rearrested on the charge in May 2019. He was released in March 2020 after serving prison time.
In February 2021, Yates was arrested in Miami-Dade and charged with felony domestic battery and strong arm robbery, with a trial scheduled for Aug. 23, according to court records.
He had also been charged with battery in a 2014 incident, according to Miami-Dade court records.
Police are investigating the crash.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more is learned.
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 8:43 AM.
