POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A new video shows a high-speed pursuit on Interstate 95 that ended in a violent crash, taking a woman’s life.
In the video, a stolen Dodge Charger is seen going over 130 miles per hour on the highway as Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies follow behind.
The pursuit ended with the Charger running a red light and colliding with a Hyundai.
The incident occurred in May when, authorities said, a group of five men carjacked a man in Hallandale Beach.
“Five people with guns and stuff like this. I was shocked,” said carjacking victim Rider Prospère.
The young man held the victim at gunpoint and took off with his Dodge.
The victim called 911, and it didn’t take long for deputies to find the car.
Deputies followed the car via ground and air until it crashed while turning left on West Copans Road and I-95 in Pompano Beach.
Inside the Hyundai was 68-year-old Patricia Schmelz. She was transported to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Following the crash, deputies were confused as to who was behind the wheel of the Dodge.
“Nobody getting out,” said a deputy on the helicopter. “Watch out, he might try to do it. Looks like moving in, open.”
Sixteen-year-old Justin Edmond is charged in connection to the fatal accident. His attorney pleaded with the judge to give him a bond before his trial starts.
Jim Lewis said the group could have switched places before getting out of the car to place the blame on his client.
“My client’s been singled out because they allege he’s the driver of the vehicle. There were four people in that vehicle,” said Jim Lewis, the suspect’s attorney. “You look from the helicopter footage, it’s unclear who was the driver of the vehicle.”
Lewis said first responders took too long to treat the woman.
“She could’ve survived. Paramedics weren’t called for almost 15 minutes,” said Lewis. “She had been pronounced dead by one of the other officers while they attended other matters, and if, in fact, she had been given appropriate medical care on time, she very well might have survived, and we wouldn’t be here on a vehicular homicide charge.”
Body camera video shows deputies calling for fire rescue.
“She’s responsive. We are going to need fire rescue,” said a deputy.
The video shows deputies administering CPR, asking her questions as they waited for the ambulance, and rolling her on her side so that she can continue breathing.
“Ma’am, can you hear me? Stay with me ma’am, OK?” a deputy said.
As deputies tended to Schmelz, others focused on apprehending the five people in the car.
Edmond’s sister, Destiny Ray, said she wants her younger brother home as they await trial.
“I’m very sorry for the loss of the family. It’s very horrible what happened to her, but I just want my brother home with us,” she said. “He’s only 16 years old, and he’s my mom’s last child, so I just want him home with his family.”
All the other suspects are out on bond except Edmond, as the judge denied the attorney’s motion to release him.
“I found him to be a danger because he was driving a car at 135 miles an hour up I-95, on the shoulder, that’s why,” said the judge. “Whether the woman died or, I wish she had lived, would not in any way, shape or form, have affected. It still would have been a dangerous crime, and I still would have made the finding, even if she was alive.”
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.