One dead in Broward after driver flees trooper, crashes with three cars, FHP says
A Margate man died in a three-car crash while trying to get away from a pursuing Florida Highway Patrol trooper Wednesday night, according to the agency.
The 52-year-old man, whom the FHP has not identified, was driving a Ford Focus the wrong way down University Drive in Plantation shortly after 7 p.m. when the crash happened, said Lt. India Miranda, with the Highway Patrol.
Miranda said the driver was “actively fleeing from a Florida Highway Patrol trooper” when he hit the other vehicles. The reason the trooper was after the man “is all under investigation,” Miranda said.
The man was fleeing the trooper from Florida’s Turnpike, then I-595, before he exited onto University Drive, south of North Marcano Boulevard, according to the FHP.
There, the driver of the Focus first hit the left side of a Hyundai Elantra. The 20-year-old woman driving that car was not injured, Miranda said.
The driver then hit a Honda Accord head-on, Miranda said, causing minor injuries to the 41-year-old driver of that car.
After the Ford came to a stop in the center lane of southbound University Drive, it was hit by a Chevrolet Cruz, Miranda said. Both cars were entangled, she said.
The 22-year-old driver of the Cruz could not avoid the collision, Miranda noted, and was treated for “non-life-threatening injuries.”
The driver of the Ford was pronounced dead at the scene, Miranda said.
FHP loosened rules on chases
While many police agencies have tightened rules about when officers can chase people fleeing from them, the FHP relaxed its policy in the beginning of 2024, allowing troopers more discretion.
The revised policy removed guidelines about following speed limits, allowed motorcycle troopers to participate in pursuits and allowed troopers to drive on the wrong side of the road or in the wrong direction.
The revisions changed what the agency put into place two years earlier, which permitted chases only when the person troopers were after was believed to have committed a felony, was driving recklessly or was driving while intoxicated.
“This policy sets out the proper method for members of the Florida Highway Patrol to make a reasonable determination consistent with the provisions of policy, state statutory law, constitutional law, and in accordance with their training, whether to initiate,engage in, continue, or terminate a pursuit,” the March 2024 policy revision states.
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 10:28 AM.
