Man of interest in Kentucky killing leads Miami-Dade police on chase, crash, cops say
A man of interest in a Kentucky killing who was driving the victim’s stolen car led cops on a chase Monday morning until he crashed into several cars in north Miami-Dade, resulting in road closures during the rush hour, authorities said.
Acting on police intel, Miami-Dade officers flooded the streets in search of the victim’s car, Officer Alvaro Zabaleta, a police spokesman, told reporters near the crash scene. When undercover officers spotted a red Chevrolet Camaro with a Kentucky license plate at Northwest 87th Street and 18th Avenue just after 7 a.m., they tried to pull over the driver, Zabaleta said.
But after stopping for a moment, the 38-year-old driver of the Camaro took off and police gave chase. While fleeing, the Camaro struck a car at Northwest 103rd Street and 27th Avenue.
Around 7:45 a.m., the driver lost control of the car, crashed into several vehicles and flipped on its side near Northwest 118th Street and 27th Avenue, according to authorities.
The driver, who was not immediately identified, got trapped in the Camaro and had to be rescued by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, Zabaleta said. He was taken into custody and airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition.
CBS News Miami footage showed a red Chevrolet Camaro flipped on its side along with several other crashed cars. A woman at the crash site told the TV station that her 11-year-old grandson was taken to the hospital after the Camaro hit her Hyundai from behind as she was driving her grandchildren to school.
“I didn’t see nothing,” she told the TV station. “It was just all boom, surprise, it was just oof, it was scary.”
Police shut down all lanes on Northwest 27th Avenue from 115th to 119th streets for several hours.
What happened in Kentucky?
Just before noon Sunday, officers were dispatched to 806 Inverness Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, after a person was reported “down,” John Bradley, a spokesman with Louisville Metro Police Department, told the Miami Herald.
When officers arrived, they found the body of a man, later identified as 45-year-old Alain Garcia Perez, who died from “apparent injuries due to blunt force trauma,” Bradley said Monday in an email. Public records show he lived at that address.
“During the initial investigation, it was discovered the victim’s car was missing and an attempt to locate was issued for the car,” Bradley said. “The operator of the vehicle in Florida is considered a person of interest in this case, but it is still too early to label the operator a suspect.”
This article will be updated when more information is available.
This story was originally published February 26, 2024 at 8:59 AM.
