Police chase on Palmetto Expressway ends with multi-car crash

Driver in custody, no injuries following accident

MIAMI – A police chase on the Palmetto Expressway ended with a multi-car crash on rainy Miami streets Wednesday.

The chase ended at West 69th Avenue and Flagler Street after the suspect exited the highway.

A Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson says the chase began when troopers responded to a call of an SUV hitting other vehicles on SR-826 near 25th Street.

When the suspect saw police, he took off on the Palmetto before heading east after exiting on Southwest 8th Street.

The driver lost control and hit a gray SUV before slamming into a light pole. The man, identified by police as 19-year-old Robert Harden III, is currently in custody.

"He wasn't able to get out of the car once he hit that pole," said Isabel Montoya, the driver of the gray SUV. 

Montoya found herself caught up in the tail end of the police pursuit. 

"You could hear the sirens but when I went to see where the sirens were coming from, he was going what seemed like 100 miles per hour, so when I saw him, he hit my car," she said. 

No one was injured during the chase and accident.

"How hard I was hit, I'm very thankful to God that nothing happened," Montoya said. 


About the Authors:

Roy Ramos joined the Local 10 News team in 2018. Roy is a South Florida native who grew up in Florida City. He attended Christopher Columbus High School, Homestead Senior High School and graduated from St. Thomas University.

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.