DORAL, FLA. (WSVN) - A Miami-Dade Police officer who is accused of causing a killer collision has been arrested.
State Attorney officials said Miami-Dade Police Officer John Young Song was driving too fast, did not have his lights on and did not adhere to a stop sign before plowing into another vehicle, killing the driver on March 6.
Song has been charged with vehicular homicide.
“We have no indication that they were responding to a call,” said Miami-Dade Police spokesperson Lee Cowart. “It appears they were on routine patrol.”
The crash happened in a rural area at the intersection of Southwest 260th Street and 147th Avenue at around 1:30 a.m.
Officials said Song was driving in his police cruiser when he crashed into 45-year-old Emilio Jesus Vizcaino. The victim was driving a white Nissan at the time. He died on scene.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, Song did not obey the stops sign and was driving through the intersection at about 80 miles per hour.
In the arrest warrant, the State Attorney’s Office said:
“That subject disregarded the stop sign and entered the intersection at a rate of speed nearly twice the posted speed limit. He was not responding to any emergency calls for service, and did not have his emergency lights of siren activated. Additionally, a post-collision inspection of the subject’s police car indicated that the headlight switch was in the ‘off’ position, indicating the likelihood the subject did not even have his headlights on when he crashed into the victim. Together, these factors indicate that the subject drove the police car with a willful and wanton disregard for other persons and property, and that the victim died as a result.”
Miami-Dade Police Department released a statement through Director Juan Perez that reads, “We are committed to the highest professional standards, and will always endeavor to achieve our mission while being transparent and accountable for our actions.”
Song and his passenger, who is also a police officer, were both transported to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening after the crash. They have since recovered.
Song was arrested on Tuesday and has already bonded out of jail. His arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 13.
Alexis Izquierdo, an attorney for the victim’s family held a press conference Thursday.
The family said there is still more information they need before they can make their next step.
“We knew that there was an incident where an officer had failed to yield and we believed that the officer was responsible for the accident,” he said. “However we didn’t know that he was traveling without any headlights without any sirens and at that rate of speed so this is all new information for us.”
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