A robbery at a Miami gas station led to a police chase — and a deadly end, officers say
A man accused of robbing a woman at a Miami-Dade County gas station died Thursday night after crashing his car into a tree following a brief police chase, police say.
The incident started around 6:15 p.m. when the man, who police have not named, stole an item from a woman’s car parked at a gas station in Northwest Miami-Dade, said Detective Angel Rodriguez, Miami-Dade police spokesman.
The man then got into a car and drove away. A witnessed flagged down arriving Miami-Dade officers and told them the direction he was heading, Rodriguez said.
The officers chased after him in their cars, but stopped the pursuit for safety reasons, according to police.
The man kept going, though, hitting two cars before crashing into the tree at Northwest 58th Street and 15th Avenue, Rodriguez said.
City of Miami Fire Rescue firefighters had to cut the man out of the mangled car, Rodriguez said. Paramedics took him to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he died, according to police.