SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A man was arrested after a video showed him ramming parked cars while trying to evade Miami-Dade Police during a pursuit.
The video, which was shared on social media, captured a 41-year-old driver in a white pickup truck attempting to escape in Southwest Miami-Dade on Wednesday.
Police said officers were conducting surveillance on the truck, which had fled an earlier scene when it ended up in a parking lot where the confrontation occurred.
“(He) fled from officers at a high-rate of speed, and he wound up here in this area,” said MDPD Detective Andre Martin, “ramming into several civilian vehicles, as well as marked police cars with no regard for anyone’s safety, including that of his own father.”
The video shows the driver ramming parked cars to escape after being boxed in by police vehicles.
An elderly passenger, identified as the driver’s father, exited the truck during the commotion. Police said the passenger was unharmed.
“He was an innocent bystander who was taken along for this ride,” said Martin.
The driver, identified by relatives as Kevin Paul Prater, was arrested at the scene by Miami-Dade Police’s Priority Response Team. Police said Prater was wanted for aggravated stalking, extortion and making written threats to kill a law enforcement officer.
Witness Alex Fernandez described the chaotic scene.
“Something bizarre and crazy. I saw a guy come in a pickup truck, and the cops were chasing him, and he got blocked in, and he started smashing into all different cars, and then the father tried to jump out,” he said. “The police officers blocked him in, broke the window and apprehended the gentleman.”
Police said Prater was supposed to meet with his probation officer before the incident.
Prater was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
The truck was later towed on Wednesday evening.
No injuries were reported.
Prater now faces additional charges, including reckless driving, fleeing and eluding, battery on a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest.
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