Miami-Dade police chase and crash suspect has paid $2,008 in traffic fines since 2021
The 20-year-old accused of leading police on a high speed chase Sunday night — and causing one police cruiser to crash via a game of “chicken” — before smashing into several cars at a Kendall intersection has paid $2,008 in traffic fines in the last 18 months.
That’s not counting $357 of other pending tickets for which Willie Harris, 20, would be having court hearings later this month. Nor does it account for the three reckless driving and the three reckless driving causing damage or injury tickets that accompany the nine criminal charges hanging over Harris’ head.
As of Monday afternoon, Harris remained in Miami-Dade Corrections custody, with his bail set at $55,500 on one count of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer; two counts of reckless driving, causing bodily injury; two counts of fleeing or eluding an officer at high speed, causing injury or death; one count of fleeing or eluding an officer in a marked car at high speed; one count of fleeing or eluding an officer; one count of resisting an officer without violence; and one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
Chicken and donuts in Richmond Heights?
An arrest report claims Harris’ silver car was one of several Dodge Chargers doing donuts at the intersection of Lincoln Boulevard and Carver Drive around 6 p.m. Sunday. The smoke from the donuts and the crowd “blocking all lanes of traffic in every direction” as they chronicled the automotive activity drew the attention of a cruiser-driving Miami-Dade police officer.
The officer, the report says, hit the lights and siren to start clearing the area, and noticed a silver Dodge Charger “continuing to drive recklessly” as he headed north on Lincoln Boulevard. The report said the officer noted the first three letters of the license plate and the blond ends of the driver’s Afro.
Though the first officer lost Harris in what was described as a trip onto the Don Shula Expressway, then Killian Parkway, through neighborhoods and residential districts paying no mind to Stop signs and red lights, the report says Harris drove into the sight of another officer. As the report described it, Harris would be hard to miss in a silver Dodge Charger speeding southbound in the northbound lanes of Southwest 102nd Avenue near 136th Street, especially by an officer heading north in those same lanes.
“The vehicle made no attempts to swerve or veer out of the way,” the report said. “He continued to drive head on towards (the officer), leaving (the officer) in fear of severe bodily injury or death. (The officer) was forced to evasively exit the roadway onto the grassy shoulder to avoid being struck by the vehicle head on and at a high rate of speed.”
After Miami-Dade police’s helicopter and several other cars joined the chase, the report said, Harris continued to exceed the speed limit by 30 mph in some places. He turned right off Southwest 128th Street onto Southwest 117th Avenue, blew past Southwest 120th Street, then U-turned back south. Harris’ run ended, the report said, when he entered the intersection at Southwest 120th Street again, this time hitting five stopped cars.
Harris’ car crept to a stop, at which point he was arrested. The report said Harris told officers that he was sorry, he should’ve stopped but he was scared.
Recent past is prologue?
Disregarding red lights got Harris $293 tickets in January and last November, according to online traffic records. He paid $195 for an August 2021 careless driving ticket. Driving with defective equipment and prohibited lights cost him two $145 tickets in June 2021. A month after getting an improper passing ticket ($179) while driving on a learner’s permit without a licensed driver ($192), he violated the rules at a steady green light ($195) while driving on a learner’s permit without a licensed driver ($192).
This series of infractions began April 15, 2021, with a speeding ticket in South Miami. Harris paid $179.
