Police pursuit ends in shooting

NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Police have saturated a neighborhood and stopped traffic on nearby Palmetto Expressway following a dramatic police chase.

The Palmetto Expressway was shut down in both directions at Northwest 27th Avenue, for hours Friday afternoon, as Miami-Dade and other police agencies worked together to investigate the site of the crash scene, which ended in a shooting.

Police saturated the area to investigate the crime scene, which covered a wide area. At some point, shots were fired, but police have not confirmed if officers fired or if there was an exchange of gunfire.

The chase came to an end after the suspect vehicle, a silver Mercedes Crossover, crashed into a chain link fence on a south side road by 27th Avenue, at around 1:10 p.m., Friday. A total of four people were arrested on the scene and pulled from the car. Miami-Dade Fire confirm two of those people were airlifted to Jackson Memorial.

The chase began at around 12:30 p.m. as a possible burglary to a dwelling and a possible stolen car. The Mercedes traveled northbound on 874 at Southwest 104th Street to try to elude police.

As the vehicle sped north in excess of 100 mph, police backed off but the car continued speeding until it hit traffic in the Miami Gardens area. The vehicle exited the expressway traveling against traffic at some point and leading police on a cat and mouse chase through the neighborhood. When the driver tried to get back on the highway, he crashed the car into a fence.

Several people talked about having near misses with the reckless driver. "I was standing right there on the corner," said a man only identified as Bob, "next thing I know ... the dude hit the corner right here [at 166th and 29th]. I thought it was going to hit me, so I had to run off, so he don't hit me."

Police soon boxed the Mercedes in and the suspect driver jumped out of the vehicle and climbed over the fence the car had crashed into. Several police officers drew their guns and some pursued the suspect over the fence, catching him in some bushes. Meanwhile, other officers plucked out the passengers of the Mercedes and placed them in flex-cuffs at the scene.

The sister of one of the suspects appeared at the scene. She refused to give her name or her brother's name. "I came down from Fort Lauderdale, that something happened here in Miami, 826 and whatever that is," she said. "That's all we know."

The suspected driver had to be taken out of the bushes on a back board, and he was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in unknown condition. A second suspect also had to be airlifted.

Kandace Crothers said she could hear the commotion off Northwest 65th Street, west of 27th Avenue, from inside a mobile phone store. "You could see some bullet holes in the truck," she said. "You see the boy jump out the car, he jumped the fence and then police shot him. It was crazy. Everybody was screaming, and then one of the boys tried to come toward the Metro PCS Store."

John Rivera president of the Police Benevolent Association commented at a press conference, on the scene, that crimes like these could be avoided if there were more officers on the street. "We're about 600 officers short, just in the Miami-Dade Police Department," he said. "This was a very, very dangerous situation, not just for the police officers but for the entire community. This started in Kendall and went all through the streets."

Police have yet to give the official word on who was injured and how they sustained those injuries.

The highway was completely shut down for hours as police continued to investigate. At about 4 p.m., some lanes were re-opened and traffic was snarled into the evening.

All roads have since reopened.

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