Driver arrested in DUI after crash injures Miami-Dade police officer

A driver was charged with DUI after a multi-car crash that involved a marked Miami-Dade patrol car in Little Havana, police said Wednesday.

David Merini, 33, of West Palm Beach was driving a Chevrolet Malibu east on Southwest Eighth Street and 32nd Avenue near Versailles restaurant around 8 p.m. Tuesday when he lost control of the car. He swerved into oncoming traffic, according to police, and struck several cars —one of them forced into a police car — before the Malibu flipped on its side.

“The brakes stopped working so I veered to the left,” Merini told reporters at the crash scene. “I couldn’t stop.”

“That’s one of the things are investigators are looking at,” said Miami-Dade police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta.

The driver of one of the cars hit was taken to the hospital and the officer was hospitalized for hand and wrist injuries. No one else was hurt.

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 9:51 PM with the headline "Driver arrested in DUI after crash injures Miami-Dade police officer."