A chase through Miami-Dade traffic on Monday ended with a crash on the Florida Turnpike, a man in custody and an AR-15 rifle seized from a wrecked vehicle after, investigators say, he pursued his ex-girlfriend and threatened to kill her.
Troopers said the woman told officers she feared for her life after the alleged threat. Multiple people at the scene were detained as Florida Highway Patrol units moved in following the crash.
Lt. Alex Camacho, an FHP spokesperson, told Local 10 that the victim drove to the agency’s Snapper Creek Turnpike station, which set off the pursuit when the suspect spotted troopers and took off. Camacho said the driver exited the Turnpike at Southwest Eighth Street and crashed near 127th Avenue. Two occupants of the vehicle were initially detained while the suspect ran from the scene, but he was taken into custody a short time later. According to Camacho, troopers recovered an AR-15 from the crashed vehicle.
Where It Happened
The Snapper Creek Service Plaza sits at Milepost 19 on Florida’s Turnpike and houses an FHP Turnpike post that covers the Miami-Dade stretch, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Station listings identify the Snapper Creek post as the Turnpike's Miami station, which is where the woman told officers she stopped. The plaza regularly serves as a public contact point for troopers patrolling the Turnpike.
What Troopers Said
Authorities had not released the suspect's name as of Tuesday morning, and FHP did not immediately provide additional details on potential charges, according to Local 10. Troopers did not indicate in their initial reports whether anyone was injured in the crash. Local 10's coverage cites an FHP spokesperson describing the sequence of events and notes that an official booking record and list of charges were not yet available.
