Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez has one of the best cars taxpayer money can help buy. Let's hope it comes with an equally luxurious safety record.
Alvarez was involved in a fender bender Wednesday morning as he drove his BMW into the back of a pregnant woman's car in Coral Gables, according to Coral Gables Police.
The woman was checked out by Gables Fire Rescue, but didn't need to go to the hospital. Alvarez's $75,000 beamer sustained heavy damage to its front, but the mayor appeared uninjured.
The mayor recently came under fire for buying the pricey ride, while at the same time, recommending laying off over a thousand county employees to balance the budget.
Alvarez used his car allowance, which affords him $800 in taxpayer money toward every car payment, to upgrade to the 2010 BMW 550i.
He said he would be willing to scrap the county's car allowance if it came up in budget discussions, but the suggestion conveniently doesn't appear in his initial budget proposal for the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, property tax bills and pink slips are expected to go up.
It's unclear if car repairs will be on the county's dime or out of Alvarez's pocket.
Alvarez will have to pay his own fine. He was cited for careless driving by police, which costs $179.
