Driver arrested after car crashes through police barricade, into Biscayne Bay

Police say driver had 'complete disregard' for officers on MacArthur Causeway

MIAMI – A car drove through a police barricade Thursday morning and then crashed into the water near Watson Island, Miami Beach police said.

The driver of a Chevrolet Cruze was arrested after he plowed through the barricades at Alton Road and Fifth Street, struck a Road Ranger vehicle with "complete disregard for the officers along the MacArthur Causeway" and continued driving toward Miami, Officer Ernesto Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Miami Beach Police Department, told Local 10 News.

Police pursued the car along the causeway before it drove into Biscayne Bay, Rodriguez said.

The man then got out of the submerged car and took off his clothes before surrendering to police, Rodriguez said.

Nobody was hurt, but divers searched the water to make sure nobody else was in the car.

Miami Beach police had blocked off the westbound lanes of the MacArthur Causeway while they were investigating a fatal crash earlier in the morning.

The car was removed from the water and towed away.

Police are trying to determine what led the man to do what he did. His identity has not been released. 


About the Authors

Saira Anwer joined the Local 10 News team in July 2018. Saira is two-time Emmy-nominated reporter and comes to South Florida from Madison, Wisconsin, where she was working as a reporter and anchor.

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