AVENTURA, FLA. (WSVN) - - Police have arrested a man suspected of trying to rob someone after he crashed a stolen van in a parking lot of an Aventura shopping center.
The crash happened at a parking lot outside of a Best Buy, along the 21000 block of Biscayne Boulevard, at around 8:30 p.m., Tuesday.
According to Aventura Police, they found the man in his forties in a stolen van near the shopping center, and they believed he was “setting up a victim” nearby.
When they went to confront him, the subject took off and drove recklessly, going on what police called a driving rampage throughout the city.
The driver finally stopped when he hit a parked silver Nissan Ultima and a tree, which got uprooted, ripped apart and fell sideways on the pavement outside of a Best Buy and Target.
7News spoke to a college student whose car was left gutted from the crash, as he went shopping for books at Target. When he came out, he saw his car completely destroyed.
“I wasn’t even inside the store for 10 minutes. I walk out, I walked back out, and my car was totaled,” said Devin Bejacmar. “The police said the car was airborne, hit my car, and that’s what happened.”
Both of the damaged vehicles have since been towed away from the scene.
No injuries were reported.
The subject, 38-year-old Brian Kelly, is now in police custody and is being checked out medically.
Bejacmar said he’s just glad he wasn’t in the car when the crash happened.
“I mean, everything happens for a reason,” he said. “I thank God.”
Kelly is expected to appear before a judge on Wednesday afternoon.
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