Chase leads to I-95 crash in Pompano Beach. Man is arrested; road has reopened
A chase by Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies ended in a multi-vehicle crash on I-95 on Friday morning, shutting down the southbound lanes of the highway near Pompano Beach and tying up traffic for hours.
An arrest was made, and the lanes have been reopened.
The BSO pursuit began after deputies responded to a call around 11 a.m of a theft near the 300 block of West Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach. A deputy was “battered” during the investigation by someone who fled in a car, BSO said.
Deputies then chased the car until it crashed in the southbound lanes of the highway just before Exit 36, Atlantic Boulevard. The crash involved one BSO patrol car and two other cars, according to the police scanner.
Michael Gottlieb, a Fort Lauderdale criminal defense attorney, said BSO’s standard operating procedure allows deputies to pursue vehicles in certain circumstances. A violent crime, like battery on a deputy, would likely meet the criteria, “but with limits,” Gottlieb said.
The Police Executive Research Forum recommends law enforcement agencies to participate in pursuits only if a violent crime was committed and the suspect is expected to commit more violent acts because chases can end with injuries or deaths.
In 2023 in the U.S., there were 468 fatal crashes that involved police pursuits; seven of those collisions were in Florida, according to the most recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
Deputies say the driver, 37-year-old Avonta Bailey, was taken into custody and to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The deputy involved in the crash is fine, BSO added.
As of late Friday afternoon, Bailey was not showing up in online jail records, but the sheriff’s office said he was arrested on multiple charges, including battery on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, fleeing and eluding police and retail theft.
According to Broward County court records, Bailey has a long history of arrests, and pleaded no contest to armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and burglary.
Miami Herald Staff Writer Devoun Cetoute contributed to this report.
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This story was originally published January 23, 2026 at 12:24 PM.
