MIAMI – The car thief responsible for a three-car collision in a stolen vehicle that caused one car to crash into a gym has been identified.
Ivan Gonzalez of Miami Beach was the driver, police say, who was behind the wheel of a stolen 2023 Red Hyundai Tucson when the multi-car crash happened outside of KO ZONE gym in Little Haiti on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
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Gonzalez, according to police, was fleeing police on NW 3rd Avenue. When he reached the intersection of NW 3rd Avenue and NW 54 Street, he sped through stop signs crashing into a 2020 Toyota RAV 4, which overturned and then struck another car, a 2018 Lexus NX 300.
Some of the gymgoers inside were just inches away from where one of the cars hit the wall.
“When I was walking by behind me, I hear the noise,” said trainer Tomas Garcia. “And then, of course, the cars, and then I saw the wall breaking apart.”
The driver of the Toyota RAV 4 suffered multiple facial fractures, rib fractures and a pelvis fracture and was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital Ryder Trauma Center. The injuries of the other driver were not reported, but Gonzalez also had to be admitted to the hospital from injuries sustained in the crash.
Police reported that Gonzalez’s license was revoked on Sept. 5, 2023.
Yeshimabet Milner lives near the gym and said she heard the crash around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
“I’m so thankful that no one was killed,” she said. “I ran outside and I saw the car flipped over, a red car smashed in front and someone I assume was the suspect handcuffed to the ground, yelling and screaming.”
“To find out that it was a police chase, was extremely terrifying,” said Milner.