MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A robbery suspect fleeing from police was struck and killed by a taxi cab Thursday night on the Airport Expressway, Miami-Dade police said.
Detectives were following a car that matched the description of a car involved in a robbery earlier that evening near Northwest 49th Street and Northwest 28th Avenue, Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said.
Detectives attempted a traffic stop, but the driver of the Dodge Charger refused to comply and continued driving west on the Airport Expressway, Zabaleta said.
"When the subject decided to stop and bail out of the car on foot, and he crossed the median to attempt to cross the eastbound lanes, that's when he was struck by a vehicle," Zabaleta said.
Paramedics tried to save the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The taxi driver was not hurt.
Harry Kelley, 70, told Local 10 News that he was in his parents' front yard when he was approached by the robber.
"I went on the porch to put my cup down, and when I came back, he came at me with a gun and dropped me," Kelley said.
A neighbor's surveillance camera captured a man in a white tank top sprinting down the street, pointing a gun toward Kelley.
"He asked me for my wallet," Kelley said.
Kelley and the robber struggled in the driveway.
"We got into a scuffle and I knocked the gun out of his hands. Then he got it back, but we were on the ground scuffling," Kelley said.
Kelley said the robber got away empty-handed.
Police did not immediately identify the suspect.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is conducting an investigation into the suspect's death.
Miami-Dade police traffic homicide detectives are also investigating.