Man Talks About Officer-Involved ATV Crash

A man, who says he witnessed an on-duty Miami Beach police officer crash his department-issued all-terrain vehicle into two people on a dark beach, said the officer fled on foot after the accident.

Jonnathan Adames told NBC Miami that the officer, identified by authorities as Derick Kuilan, pleaded with people on the scene to not get him in trouble and then he left. Adames called the officer's conduct "disgusting."

Adames said he was sitting a few yards away from the crash scene, where Kuilan lost control of his ATV around 5 a.m. Sunday and crashed into two people. Adames said it was at a high speed.

Miami Beach Police said that, in a violation of department policy, Adelee Sharie Martin, 27, was also on the ATV and was thrown from it in the accident. Martin was treated for minor injuries and released.

Kitzie Nicanor, 28, from Seattle, Wash., and Luis Almonte, 29, from North Miami, were also injured, police said. Both were listed in stable condition. Adames said he is a good friend of Almonte.

“She's gasping for breath, blood everywhere. We're trying to get the sand out of her mouth,” Adames said of Nicanor.

The officer was at South Beach's The Clevelander Hotel, met a girl there and took her on a ride on the ATV, said Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower on Monday.

Bower called for a full investigation into the incident, and she also said a second officer, who was supposed to be patrolling the mid-beach area on an ATV, was also at the bar. It wasn't clear what that officer was doing.

Police said the second officer is under investigation but not directly involved in the accident.

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Bower said that the city manager told her Kuilan had been drinking. Meanwhile, Miami Beach Police told NBC Miami that they were awaiting blood alcohol test results.

Adames said Kuilan fled, leaving Martin behind as well. Police officers arrived and at least one tried to claim that the officer had been on an undercover assignment, Adames said.

"On my orders the officer was immediately relieved of duty pending the results of the various investigations,” Police Chief Carlos Noriega has said in a statement.

“Should the investigations determine that the officer involved in this accident failed to follow existing policies and/or procedures then I will take swift and firm action. The safety and well being of our residents and visitors is the Miami Beach Police Department’s primary mission," Noriega said.

The Miami Beach Police Department and the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office were investigating.