A high-speed chase through Miami Beach's North Beach neighborhood ended with two cars deliberately ramming each other and a man left with a shoulder injury after trying to confront the driver, according to police. Rayko Rodriguez Soto, 21, of Hialeah, was arrested Sunday and now faces three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon along with a felony criminal mischief charge.
According to WPLG Local 10, the drivers of an Infiniti and a Nissan Altima were traveling at high speed while intentionally striking one another as Rodriguez chased the other car through North Beach on Sunday. Investigators say the collisions were forceful enough to bring both vehicles to a stop. A passenger riding in the Nissan told police that Rodriguez was her ex-boyfriend and that she had been a juvenile when they dated.
Police say a passenger got out of the Nissan to confront Rodriguez, who then accelerated forward and struck the man with the front bumper and hood of the Infiniti, according to the arrest report cited by the station. The man ran back to the Nissan, saying he feared for his life, and later reported a left shoulder injury. Victims told police that Rodriguez fled the scene after the collision.
Video Evidence and Early Morning Police Contact
The Nissan passenger provided police with video showing Rodriguez intentionally ramming the victims' vehicle and striking the man, the station's report states. Miami Beach police first met with the Nissan driver at around 7:50 a.m. Sunday along North Bay Road near West 58th Street, an area that sits adjacent to La Gorce Country Club, an enclave known for its waterfront estates, according to Redfin. North Beach itself is a quieter, more residential stretch of Miami Beach known for its Miami Modernism architecture and ongoing redevelopment, according to Greater Miami & Miami Beach tourism materials.
Miami Beach detectives, assisted by Hialeah police officers, arrested Rodriguez shortly after 1:40 p.m. Sunday at East 20th Street between 11th and 10th avenues in Hialeah, per the arrest report. He was booked at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center near Doral shortly before 5:50 p.m. that evening. The facility, operated under Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation, serves as the county's primary intake center for adult pre-trial detainees and has a capacity of roughly 1,300 beds, according to county jail records. Rodriguez's bond was set at $13,500.
A Prior Brush With Miami Police
This is not the first time Rodriguez, previously identified in reports as Rayko Soto, has run from police behind the wheel. In September 2025, he was arrested at age 20 after racing a dirt bike while wearing a ski mask, evading Miami officers from Allapattah to Little Havana until he ran out of gas — at which point officers discovered his driver's license was already suspended over unpaid traffic citations, per Local 10 News. That earlier arrest resulted in felony charges of resisting an officer and street racing, establishing a documented pattern of dangerous vehicle-related behavior less than a year before the Miami Beach incident.
Steep Legal Exposure Under Florida Law
The aggravated battery charges Rodriguez now faces carry serious weight under Florida law. Attorney Richard Hornsby notes that aggravated battery with a deadly weapon is a second-degree felony in Florida, punishable by up to 15 years in state prison, 15 years of probation, and a $10,000 fine per count — and Florida courts classify motor vehicles used intentionally to strike a person or vehicle as deadly weapons. With three separate counts filed, that exposure multiplies significantly.
The criminal mischief charge adds further risk. Property damage valued at $1,000 or more is treated as a third-degree felony in Florida, carrying up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to Zelman Law. Beyond the criminal case, victims of deliberate collisions like this one often face complications recovering damages, since Florida auto insurance policies standardly exclude coverage for intentional acts — a distinction from ordinary accidental crashes that can leave victims seeking recovery directly from an offender's personal assets, per the Law Offices of Anthony Quackenbush.
The case adds to a broader concern among Miami-area authorities about aggressive driving on county roads. The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and Florida Department of Transportation periodically run targeted Speed & Aggressive Driving Enforcement campaigns aimed at curbing high-speed and road-rage incidents across the county's major thoroughfares. Local 10 News reporter Andrea Torres authored the original report, with contributions from assignment editor Carson Merlo.
