Mustang driver in fatal Miami Beach crash arrested, had a suspended license, police say
The 38-year-old driver of a Ford Mustang involved in Monday’s deadly three-vehicle crash in Miami Beach has been arrested on charges relating to vehicle homicide and driving with a suspended license, police say.
Police say Brian Williams of Oakland, California, was arrested for his involvement in the crash that happened shortly after midnight on Alton Road and 29th Street, leaving one of his passengers dead and another seriously injured.
Police say Williams was speeding south on Alton in the Mustang when he crashed into a 2020 Porsche convertible, which then crashed into a parked vehicle. Williams then lost control and began to travel sideways. His sports car then jumped the curb, struck a large tree on the west shoulder, then crashed into another tree about 15 feet away, according to his arrest affidavit.
Williams’ two passengers were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center with life-threatening injuries, police said. One of them, Desire Walker, who was sitting in the backseat of the Mustang, died at the hospital. The other passenger, Sierra Cummins, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, had to undergo “livesaving procedures,” according to the arrest affidavit.
An update on her condition was not immediately available.
The Porsche’s driver got a cut on his left elbow and was treated by Miami Beach Fire Rescue.
Police say the area where the crash occurred has a posted speed limit of 30 mph. Based on the preliminary investigation, police say Williams was traveling “well over twice the posted speed limit.”
“The excessive speed while trying to negotiate a curved and leaving his lane of travel was a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of the passengers in the vehicle,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Police say they later learned that Williams had his license suspended in 2013 in California, which means he should not have been driving. He has sbeen booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade on more than $17,000 bond.
The southbound lanes of Alton Road in the area were closed for hours during the investigation.
This article will be updated.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 8:10 AM.
