MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – A driver who was trying to get away from police officers died during a crash with a Miami-Dade police cruiser in Miami Shores, police said on Wednesday morning.
The driver, who police identified as 28-year-old Kadrian Devante Spencer, was a suspect in an armed robbery that happened Monday in South Beach, according to Andre D. Martin, a detective for the Miami Beach Police Department.
The incident unfolded when Miami-Dade police spotted the vehicle that had been involved in the robbery.
The vehicle was pursued along Northwest 103rd Street as officers on the ground including detectives from the department’s Robbery Intervention Detail (RID) assisted, police said.
One of the suspects tried to flee on foot but was taken into custody, according to investigators.
As the chase continued, police said that Spencer’s car was heading westbound on Northwest 103rd Street without its headlights on and was driving in the wrong lane.
The suspect vehicle was traveling on North Miami Avenue when one of the passengers exited the vehicle and battered a woman who was seated at a bus stop.
As the police pursuit continued, detectives said Spencer was driving the wrong way, and the Miami-Dade police officer was unable to avoid the collision. Three others were in the car with the suspect at the time of the crash.
The police officer who was driving the cruiser involved in the collision was not seriously injured and is expected to make a full recovery, according to Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police Department.
One of the suspects then fled on foot and was later apprehended by K-9 officers. Meanwhile, the suspect vehicle fled westbound on NW 103rd Street at a high rate of speed with the headlights off.
The other occupants of the vehicle were identified by Miami-Dade police as the following individuals:
- Javarie Johnson, 19
- Christopher Barry, 22
- Ronald Spencer, 19
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel responded and pronounced Spencer dead. Authorities said all three passengers of the suspected vehicle were detained by officers with the Miami Beach Police Department.
Authorities also said the woman who was battered at a bus stop sustained minor injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Local 10 News Reporter Cody Weddle and Assignment Desk Editors Wilson Louis and Frine Gomez contributed to this report.