MIAMI (WSVN) - A man who, police said, snatched a woman’s purse at a gas station was killed after he smashed into a tree in Miami.
According to investigators, the thief stole a woman’s purse from the Chevron gas station near Northwest 31st Avenue and 54th Street, Thursday.
“We do know that there was a struggle that ensued, the victim and the subject, for the victim’s property,” said Miami-Dade Police Detective Angel Rodriguez.
As police were responding to the station, they said witnesses flagged them down and pointed in the direction where the suspect’s car took off.
Police were in pursuit in an attempt to chase down the subject, but they ultimately called off the chase.
“When you’re going at a high rate of speed, you also always have to take into consideration the safety of the members of our community,” said Rodriguez, “and so, the officers found it reasonable and prudent to disengage the chase.”
It remains unclear where and when police called off the chase, but the subject, who was behind the wheel of a silver sedan, didn’t get far. Police said he crashed into a tree a short drive away from the Chevron station, along Northwest 58th Street.
City of Miami Fire Rescue units were able extricate the man from the vehicle, but police said he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The silver car was later towed away from the scene.
Investigators said they are working on notifying the subject’s next of kin, as they continue to investigate.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.