MDPD: Man Fleeing Police Causes Deadly Crash
PERRINE (CBS4) -- Witnesses said a police chase ended in a deadly crash in West Perrine.
However, Miami-Dade Police said there wasn't a chase.
Monday night, there are conflicting stories, relatives of the deceased and injured are demanding answers and a manhunt.
As of late Monday, police were still looking for the driver of a black SUV that crashed into another car near 105th Avenue and 176th Street.
Police said it had a stolen tag on it and wasn't even registered in Florida.
Its rear window contained an advertisement for an adult entertainment service.
Miami-Dade's Robbery Intervention Detail was on patrol in the area, noticed the car, and was doing surveillance on it, when then lost track of it.
Spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta says officers tried to follow it, but lost sight.
Moments later, they realized it had been involved in an accident a block away from where they first spotted it.
The driver reportedly bailed out and ran.
Police said the SUV hit a sedan with two women inside.
The passenger, 55-year-old Monica Patterson, was killed.
Her sister, Sonia Hanson told CBS4, "she had just turned 55. She has 5 kids."
Relatives said Patterson most recently worked as a house keeper and was doing her best to deal with kidney problems and diabetes.
Her son, Tim Patterson, told CBS4, "My Mom was quite lovely. I definitely wouldn't want to lose her to something like this."
Patterson said he was told the car his mother was riding in was struck in a police chase.
"To me, the right question that needs to be asked is why were there no sirens?"
Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Zabalata told reporters at the scene of the crash, "investigators do not believe any type of pursuit was going on prior to the accident."
Witnesses, however, tell a different story.
Elizabeth Wilcher told CBS4 it was a police chase involving black unmarked cars. "No sirens or nothing," she said. "But the two black cars were chasing the big car and it hit the smaller car."
A woman named "Jassie" was critical of police officers, saying she saw them run after the men who jumped out of the SUV.
"One lady passed away. We could have done more if they had stopped and seen about the people who were injured," she said.
At last check, police had not released the name of the female driver who was taken to Kendall Regional Trauma Center and is in critical, but stable condition.
Patterson's family said they knew the woman and Monica were friends, but did not know anything about her.
