A Miami Beach man hit 100 mph on his motorcycle trying to flee police, deputies said

A 43-year-old Miami Beach man was jailed Saturday night after police said he fled from eight deputies on his motorcycle, which reached up to 100 mph on the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys.

Paulo J. Bernabeu was arrested on charges of fleeing and eluding, driving without a motorcycle license and tampering or destroying evidence.

He later told police he fled because he lacked a motorcycle license and he wanted to get home to his sick and elderly mother in Miami, according to the arrest report.

At 11 p.m., the motorcyclist fled from a Lower Keys deputy and was clocked going 83 mph in a 55-mph zone on Boca Chica Key, police said.

Bernabeu, riding a 2007 Honda sport motorcycle, headed south with other deputies following him. He reached Key West but turned around near the entrance and headed back north.

He reached triple-digit speeds on way back up the Keys, police said. A deputy spotted the bike coming up behind him at mile marker 28 at about 11:32 p.m.

The motorcycle got very close to the left rear side of the patrol car.

The deputy moved to allow it to pass and then hit the sirens and pursued it as the bike hit 100 mph, said Adam Linhardt, spokesman for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Bernabeu entered Big Pine Key and kept going, crossing the Seven Mile Bridge, entering Marathon and continuing north.

He was finally caught near mile marker 67 but not on his bike.

A deputy was near the Long Key Bridge when he spotted a red tail light hidden behind a palm tree near Outdoor Resorts. The motorcycle Bernabeu was riding was hidden in bushes.

The suspect then was spotted walking from behind a nearby home. Deputy Garrett Bragg ordered him to the ground at gunpoint.

Bernabeu had stashed evidence, police said. A black motorcycle jacket, black pants and a helmet he had been wearing during the chase were found nearby hidden beneath a kayak, Linhardt said.

Bernabeu was taken to the Marathon jail. He bonded out Sunday after posting a $25,000 bond.

This story was originally published August 26, 2019 at 4:03 PM.