Crash involving off-duty cop leaves one man dead, two others with minor injuries

A Sweetwater police officer on his way to an off-duty job was involved in a three-vehicle collision in Southwest Miami-Dade Tuesday night in which one of the drivers was killed.

A day after the accident, police had released little information, only naming the officer and not laying blame. Miami-Dade police traffic homicide detectives are investigating the incident.

According to police the accident happened just before 8:30 p.m. at the corner of Southwest 134th Court and 200th Street. Sweetwater Police Chief Placido Diaz said the officer, who works general investigations, was on his way to an off-duty job, when the three cars collided.

The officer driving an unmarked SUV, a 9-year veteran detective named Richard Brioso, and an adult male driving a Mitsubishi Outlander received minor injuries but were transported to the hospital for observation. A third man, also an adult male and driving a Cadillac Eldorado was declared dead at the scene by paramedics

Brioso stayed overnight and was released Wednesday morning. Sweetwater police spokesman Jonathan Arche said he spoke with Brioso, who said he was still a bit sore.

Diaz said from early reports that he had “no reason to believe the officer was at fault,” though he wouldn’t offer details of the crash, saying Miami-Dade police would ultimately make that determination. Arche echoed that statement.

Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Lee Cowart wouldn’t speculate about the incident.

This story was originally published August 28, 2019 at 11:41 AM.