A driver rams Land Rover into a parked Miami Beach police car — cop inside.
A driver from Surfside ended his weekend night in the back of a Miami Beach police car after, police say, he drove his Land Rover into the back of a parked Miami Beach police car.
Police charged 22-year-old Damian Donaire with DUI and DUI with damage to property or person. The patrol car’s trunk was destroyed in the 5:50 a.m. Saturday crash.
The officer sitting in the car at the time went to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach with non-life threatening injuries and continues to recover at home, according to Miami Beach spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez.
The arrest report says two Miami Beach police cars were parked next to each other at 6800 Collins Avenue, one in the far right lane. A speeding 2004 white Land Rover Evoque SUV plowed into the rear of the police car on right, then careened into the right rear of the police car on the left.
Another officer who later came on the scene noticed a lack of skid marks, indicating the Land Rover never hit the brakes or tapped them lightly.
When officers extricated Donaire, they said he smelled of alcohol and his flushed face featured bloodshot eyes. The report says he failed a field sobriety test and blew .082 and .088 on breath tests, above the .08 legal limit for alcohol.
Donaire’s driving record is conviction free since a pair of speeding tickets in 2012, for going 39 mph in a 20 mph zone and 53 mph in a 35 mph zone. .
In case you needed another reason to #DriveSober. A police vehicle was struck by an impaired driver last weekend. #DontDrinkandDrive pic.twitter.com/ALzPWEH7XJ
— Miami Beach Police (@MiamiBeachPD) March 7, 2017
David J. Neal: 305-376-3559, @DavidJNeal
This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 6:43 PM with the headline "A driver rams Land Rover into a parked Miami Beach police car — cop inside.."