1 dead, 3 injured after car crashes into retention pond during police chase

Cause of crash under investigation

MIRAMAR, Fla. – A car crashed into a water retention pond off Interstate 75 and Miramar Parkway on Sunday morning while fleeing police, Miramar police said. 

Robert Andrade, 22, died in the incident. 

Stephany Morel, 19, Nicole Vigniero, 19, and Victor Guzman, 17, were injured.

The chase started at about 2:19 a.m. when an officer spotted a 2007 Nissan Altima with its lights off at a bus loop near Southwest 186th Avenue and Miramar Parkway. 

The officer, who was in a marked car, approached the car, police said, but the driver fled and began to drive erratically on Miramar Parkway. 

The officer lost sight of the car and ended the pursuit, police said.

While heading onto I-75 the driver of the Altima struck a curb and continued across the exit ramp before crashing into the retention pond.

The officer was later notified that the car went into a pond. 

When firefighters arrived they found that three people had gotten out of the submerged vehicle on their own, police said. Guzman was taken to Memorial Hospital Miramar. 

After searching for the fourth person for about 45 minutes, firefighters handed the incident over to Miramar police. 

Divers recovered Andrade's body at about 11:45 a.m. and pronounced him dead at the scene. 

Police have not yet determined who was driving the car. 

The cause of the crash is under investigation.