Early this morning, a hit-and-run incident involving a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy's cruiser led to the arrest of Mervin Coffy, 28, after he collided with the law enforcement vehicle twice before fleeing the scene outside a West Park gentlemen's club. The incident occurred around 3 a.m. near West Hallandale Beach Boulevard and Southwest 58th Avenue, outside of the Playhouse Gentlemen's Club where Coffy was seen leaving the parking lot at an accelerated pace, losing control of his Cadillac Escalade and ramming into the deputy's vehicle, as per NBC Miami.
The force of the crash resulted in significant damage to the cruiser, with deployed airbags and the deputy sustaining minor injuries, following the accident, BSO officials stated that the driver backed his Escalade up, striking the cruiser a second time and then fleeing however the vehicle soon became disabled which led to the apprehension of Coffy, who now faces a slew of charges including aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and reckless driving. A first responder described the scene to dispatchers, stating, “This accident is going to be an officer-involved [crash]. He’s going to be transported with some minor injuries," as disclosed by WSVN.
Debris from the crash was scattered across the roadway, with footage showing the heavy front-end damage to the cruiser, including a cracked windshield. Responding deputies closed the traffic temporarily to investigate the crash site, where no other vehicles were present, as per BSO dispatch, a first responder confirmed the absence of subjects at the crash site upon their arrival, stating, "No subjects here at this vehicle; I guess they fled. We're going to continue back with Rescue 7," according to recordings obtained by WSVN.
The injured deputy was transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation, meanwhile, the Violent Crimes Unit of the BSO continued their investigation into the incident, which concluded with Coffy's arrest and his booking into Broward County Jail on various charges, including leaving the scene of a crash involving damage, detailed by NBC Miami. The towed cruiser was removed from the scene around 5:45 a.m., ending a violent incident that began a few hours earlier outside a popular late-night establishment.
