2 Deadly Police Pursuits In 3 Days In South Florida
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A police chase ends with a death and a second possible pursuit also cost a woman her life all in the span of three days in South Florida.
Wednesday, Miami-Dade Police, along with several other districts, gave chase to a suspect in a black Mercedes crossover vehicle after a shooting in Miami-Dade County. The chase took officers north on U.S. 27 into Broward County as the suspect continued to flee from police at a high-rate of speed.
The chase took a horrific turn just north of Griffin Road in Broward County when the black Mercedes slammed into the side of a black sedan.
The driver of the black sedan who was t-boned by the SUV died from injuries suffered in the crash. As law enforcement moved in on the suspect's vehicle, shots were heard inside the car and police and sheriff's deputies retreated from the scene, leading to a standoff.
Officers surrounded the SUV with guns drawn until three armored SWAT trucks moved in and found the suspect in the SUV had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Wednesday's high speed chase, crash and standoff came just days after a 55-year-old mother of five was killed by a suspect fleeing at a high rate of speed in West Perrine. Monica Patterson was driving near the intersection of SW 176th Street and 178th Terrace when a black SUV ran a stop sign and struck Patterson's vehicle.
Police haven't officially called the incident that killed Patterson a chase and instead said that they "attempted to approach" the vehicle and "lost sight" moments before a loud "crash."
However, in home surveillance video obtained by CBS4 on Tuesday, a black SUV is seen speeding through a residential neighborhood and blowing through a stop sign. Right behind the car is not one, but two vehicles believed to be unmarked cars of Miami-Dade's robbery intervention detail.
Police lights are not seen in the video and the cars appear to be speeding, but police said everything remains under investigation. The crash happened just after the cars pass by the surveillance video camera.
The SUV struck a red Ford Taurus that Patterson was riding in on Monday. The driver of the Taurus remains in the hospital in critical condition.
