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Arrest Made In Deadly Perrine Hit & Run Crash

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The man believed to have been behind the wheel of an SUV involved in a deadly hit and crash in Perrine earlier this month has been arrested.

Derrick Brown, 38, is facing multiple charges including vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a crash with injuries, fleeing police and resisting arrest.

On September 16th Brown, who has a warrant out for his arrest in Georgia, was speeding south on SW 105th Avenue to escape a police pursuit, according to his arrest report.

Police said the SUV he was driving, GMC Yukon-Denali, had a stolen tag on it and wasn't even registered in Florida.

When Brown reached the intersection SW 178th Street, he T-boned a Ford Taurus with two women inside, according to investigators.

The woman in the front passenger seat, 55-year-old Monica Patterson, died in the car. The driver was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Patterson's daughter, Imes, said she doesn't think Brown deserves all the blame.

"I deeply believe that it's more than just Derrick Brown," Imes Patterson told CBS 4's Lauren Pastrana. "He didn't do this by himself."

Patterson has heard from multiple witnesses officers in unmarked cars were chasing Brown just before the crash.

Surveillance video obtained by CBS 4 news showed a dark SUV speeding along a residential street with two other vehicles close behind.

Witnesses believe those were unmarked cars from Miami-Dade's Robbery Intervention Detail.

Eloise Lewis was seriously injured in the crash.

"I know I didn't hear any sirens. I didn't see any lights flashing," Lewis said last week. "If there was a police chase they need to do something about that."

Police have not called this a chase.

"I believe they were involved in it. It's not a secret. There's a lot of witnesses," said the victim's son, Timothy Patterson.

The arrest affidavit said Brown successfully evaded unmarked police cars with their emergency lights on.

The police report listed Brown as a fugitive from Georgia wanted for trafficking narcotics.

"I know we all have faults, so I'm not here to judge," Imes Patterson said. "I just want justice to be served."

During the course of the investigation, two officers involved the pursuit of the SUV identified Brown as the driver, according to the report. Police also found several recorded calls to the Gwinnett County Jail in Georgia in which Brown reported said he caused the crash.

Brown is being held without bond in the Miami-Dade County jail.

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