A man who was involved in a deadly crash was shot and killed by officers Monday morning after authorities said he stole a Miami-Dade police car. The bizarre incident began just after 6:30 a.m. when the 28-year-old suspect was involved in a crash with a taxi SUV in the area of Northwest 81st Street and 6th Avenue, Miami-Dade Police said. Police said the 55-year-old taxi driver died in the crash. After the collision, the driver of the other car, a 2011 Dodge Charger, fled the scene on foot in the direction of nearby North Shore Medical Center, police said.
He was spotted by a female Miami-Dade officer, who got out of her car and started chasing him, police said. The officer and the suspect exchanged gunfire, before the suspect doubled back and was able to drive off in the officer's car, police said. "She pursued him on foot, leaving her vehicle.
At some point there was a confrontation between the two of them, shots were exchanged, and he was able to get back into the marked unit and steal it," Miami-Dade Police spokeswoman Lt. Rosanna Corder-Stutz said. The suspect managed to drive about 20 blocks before officers caught up to him and more shots were fired.
The driver lost control and crashed the police car in the area of Northwest 91st Street and 18th Avenue, police said. The suspect was killed in the car. Police are still trying to determine if the suspect died as a result of the crash or gunshot wounds, police said. The wife of the taxi driver who was in the car during the first crash was injured and taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she was in critical condition. The girlfriend of the suspect was also involved in the initial crash and was hospitalized in stable condition. None of the people involved has been identified and police are still investigating the incident.
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