MIAMI (WSVN) - Police say a man who was shot by one of the people he had tried to rob died after he crashed his vehicle into a front yard in Miami, Saturday night.
City of Miami Police responded to the scene of the crash at Northwest 30th Street and 22nd Avenue, just before 11 p.m.
Police said the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Francisco Martinez Jr., was found with gunshot wounds to the chest.
Investigators said Martinez attempted to rob three victims two blocks away, in the area of Northwest 22nd Avenue and 28th Street.
Willie, an area resident, said he heard gunfire. “I started to walk all the way to the corner right here, and that’s when I started hearing the shooting, ‘pow, pow, pow, pow,'” he said.
Willie said he then witnessed part of the ensuing confrontation. “I started to see them struggling with each other in the cars. Then they start shooting at each other,” he said.
Police said Martinez took off after he was shot in the chest. Moments later, he slammed his car into a fence.
Surveillance video shows Martinez’s sedan careening into the yard, where it came to rest.
Neighbors awakened by the crash found Martinez unresponsive and tried to revive him.
“I heard a crash, and I went to the window, and I saw the car crashed,” said an area resident. “A bunch of my neighbors were outside, and one of them was giving CPR.”
“He fights for his life. He fights for his life really hard,” said another neighbor.
Martinez was transported in critical condition to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Sunday afternoon, family members came to the scene of the crash searching for answers.
“We just came to find out, see what we can gather, so we can go back and tell our families, ‘This is what we found out,'” said relative Maritza Valerio, “To receive this type of news on Mother’s Day is even more devastating.”
Sunday night, debris from the crash remained at the scene, and the portion of the fence the car went through was still down.
Police shut down Northwest 22nd Avenue for hours while they investigated. The roadway has since been reopened.
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