MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are searching for a hit-and-run ATV rider who struck a family’s car on their way to Miami Beach.
Estephane Padilla tried to stop the ATV rider who hit her car as she tried heading east on the MacArthur Causeway near Fifth Street on Sunday, March 3.
“We were gonna go to the beach with the kids. My best friend was here on vacation,” Padilla said.
Although everyone was OK and were wearing seat belts with the baby in a car seat, the 20-year-old said she was scared when the crash happened.
“To me, it was was scary because I had two kids in the back,” Padilla said. “It was more of the babies. I didn’t care about my car. I mean, at that moment, it was my god-daughter and my little nephew.”
The family could be seen speaking with Miami Beach Police after the hit-and-run crash, but the offending ATV rider was nowhere to be found.
“He wasn’t trying to resolve anything,” Padilla said. “He was just telling me, ‘Oh, I have money. I have money. Like, just take down my number.’ He’s like, ‘We’ll meet up later tonight.'”
The ATV rider and his friends then realized the bike was wrecked and not drivable, so they left it on scene before speeding off camera, Padilla said.
Police confiscated the stranded ATV, but the vehicle was not registered to the owner.
ATV riders have often been spotted zooming through the beach en mass lately.
A video was taken and posted on Facebook days before Padilla’s hit-and-run crash on Collins Avenue and Ninth Street.
Mitch Novick of the South Beach Sludge Report posted the video to his crime-watch website and others have done the same with similar videos.
Novick worries that another potential crash may result in a worse outcome.
“It’s predictable and, quite frankly, expected,” Novick said.
Police said they continue to investigate the hit-and-run and haven’t found the driver of the ATV.
Miami Beach Police Chief Dan Oates said in a statement, “We are well aware of the dangerous driving activity throughout the county by certain dirt bike and ATV riders. We are working with our law enforcement colleagues to intervene when and where we can do so safely. For obvious reasons, we are not discussing our tactics or plans.”
If you have any information on the ATV rider’s whereabouts, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
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