SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A good Samaritan is speaking out on a shocking stand-off that occurred between a police officer and a driver she was trying to help on the Florida Turnpike in Southwest Miami-Dade.
The incident started with a woman trying to do the right thing by stopping to help a man who had just crashed, but what the driver did next got an off-duty officer involved.
It’s an alarming sight you don’t expect to see driving home.
But for Melissa Lifferth, she said what led to an officer whipping out his gun still has her shaken up.
“I was trying to save somebody’s life and almost ended mine,” Lifferth said.
Miami-Dade Police tell us it all began at a Wawa in Southwest Miami-Dade, when 71-year-old Gregory Barnes Glynn was behind the wheel of a silver Nissan and crashed into a car sitting at a pump and then took off.
Investigators said the suspect headed north on the Turnpike before he slammed into another driver, near Exit 16.
Lifferth and her friend witnessed the crash and tried to help, but their good deed was unwanted.
“As soon as I got within 5 or 10 feet of the vehicle, he started to floor the vehicle, attempting to hit me,” Lifferth said. “I was terrified. I started running the other way.”
That’s when an off-duty police officer saw what happened and intervened, and things escalated.
“As soon as he tried to approach the vehicle, the driver then went towards the officer trying to strike the officer,” Lifferth said. “The officer took out his weapon and started holding it to him, telling him to stop the vehicle. He did it a couple more times.”
A cellphone video showed the confrontation play out.
At one point he attempted to drive toward the officer but got stuck.
Police said Glynn was eventually detained and underwent a medical evaluation.
Although Lifferth’s act of kindness didn’t quite go as planned, she said something good did come from this shocking situation.
“I’m just glad at least somebody was able to stop him, because imagine if he could’ve gotten away. He could’ve injured more people,” Lifferth said.
Police said Glynn faces several charges including fleeing the scene of an accident, not having a valid driver’s license or vehicle registration.
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