Police pursuit ends with woman accused of stealing car pulled from Doral lake

DORAL — A woman is facing several charges including grand theft after being accused of stealing a car from a Palmetto Bay dealership Thursday afternoon and then leading police on a chase through Southwest Miami-Dade.

Police identified the woman as 27-year-old Melina Logan, from North Carolina.

According to police, the police pursuit began around 1:42 p.m. as a reported carjacking at a Honda dealership, located at 16165 S. Dixie Highway. 

Logan was test-driving a silver Honda Civic Sport and when the salesperson stepped out of the vehicle, she then drove away from the lot, police said. 

Miami-Dade Police's Aviation Unit was dispatched and then began tracking the vehicle, which traveled northbound on the Palmetto Expressway before turning at some point and driving south.

The pursuit came to an end when Logan crashed into several vehicles on the exit ramp near Jackson West Hospital in Doral, on Northwest 25th Street, just as Chopper 4 was reaching the scene. 

After crashing, Logan left the disabled vehicle on an emergency lane and attempted to outrun officers by jumping into the nearby lake and swimming away.

Once in the water, officers threw ropes for her to grab, but she refused. That is when several officers jumped into the water to grab her and pull her out.

Police said that Logan scratched an officer on both arms and jumped over another officer, briefly pushing her underwater.

Officers were eventually able to bring Logan to the concrete ledge surrounding the lake and out of the water.

Police said Logan was arrested, charged accordingly and taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center for processing. 

Logan, who also faces two counts of battery on a police officer, seemed to be partially nude by the time she was pulled over to the ledge.    

Traffic was affected on the southbound lanes of the Palmetto Expressway.