A 65-year-old man is facing felony charges after Miami-Dade deputies say he intentionally ran over a stranger at the West Kendall Transit Terminal, drove home, and then came back to the scene roughly an hour later. Jay Hudson Harmon turned himself in Tuesday at the Hammocks District Station, more than three weeks after the August 7 collision left the victim with a fractured skull, broken ribs, a shattered leg, and a perforated bladder.
According to Local 10 News, surveillance footage cited in the arrest report shows Harmon driving his Jeep toward the victim at about 9:40 p.m. at the terminal, located at 9155 SW 162nd Ave. just south of Kendall Drive. Deputies said Harmon struck the man with the Jeep's front bumper before running over him with the passenger-side front and back wheels. He then fled the station, according to the report.
Harmon told investigators he purposely hit the man because he believed his son's life was in danger, per the arrest report cited by Local 10 News. It remains unclear what specific threat Harmon believed his son was facing at the time, or whether any verbal confrontation preceded the collision. Authorities say Harmon drove home after the crash before returning to the scene about an hour later, at which point he admitted to being the driver.
Victim Rushed to Kendall Hospital With Severe Injuries
Medics took the injured man to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where he was treated for a right parietal head laceration, multiple rib fractures, a left tibial fracture, and a perforated bladder. The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office said its deputies determined that Harmon intentionally ran over the man and then fled before returning to the terminal. Harmon was arrested Tuesday and was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, a 1,300-bed facility in northwestern Miami-Dade County run by the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. As of Wednesday, his bond had not yet been set in online jail records.
What Harmon Is Charged With
Harmon faces hit-and-run and aggravated battery felony charges. Under Florida Statute § 784.045, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in state prison, 15 years of probation, and a $10,000 fine, according to Online Sunshine. Florida courts have established that a vehicle can be treated as a deadly weapon when it is used in a manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm, per Hanlon Law — a distinction that separates an intentional vehicular assault like this one from an ordinary traffic collision.
Leaving the scene of a crash that causes serious bodily injury is separately classified as a second-degree felony under Florida Statute § 316.027(2)(b), carrying its own potential 15-year prison term, a $10,000 fine, and a mandatory three-year driver's license revocation, according to The Brancato Law Firm. Whether Harmon's return to the scene an hour later factors into that particular charge remains an open question in the case.
A Transit Hub With Heavy Foot Traffic
The West Kendall Transit Terminal serves as a major suburban commuter hub, connecting several Miami-Dade Metrobus lines including Routes 72, 88, 104, the 272 Sunset MAX, and the 288 Kendall MAX, according to Miami-Dade County. The Hammocks District Station where Harmon surrendered oversees law enforcement across a large swath of unincorporated southwest Miami-Dade, one of the region's most densely populated residential areas.
The case adds to a troubling statewide pattern. Miami-Dade County led all Florida counties in hit-and-run crashes in 2023, recording more than 23,000 such incidents out of over 104,000 statewide, according to Wolfson & Leon. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles estimates hit-and-run crashes account for roughly 25% of all motor vehicle collisions in the state annually, more than double the national average of 11% to 12%, per Lorenzo & Lorenzo. State data also shows more than 81% of hit-and-run fatalities occur during dawn, dusk, or nighttime hours, consistent with the roughly 9:40 p.m. timing of the West Kendall collision.
The incident comes weeks after another violent vehicular confrontation in the same area. Hoodline previously reported that a 54-year-old West Kendall driver pulled a gun on another motorist following a crash on SW 137th Avenue, part of what deputies have described as a run of road-rage-adjacent conflicts playing out on West Kendall streets this year.
