A man was taken into custody after leading police on a pursuit that started in Sweetwater ended in a crash in northwest Miami-Dade early Wednesday.
Police say the driver, 29-year-old Malquiel Hernandez, eluded officers for 17 miles before he crashed the car near a Valero gas station on Northwest 79th Street and Interstate 95.
It all started on Southwest 122nd Avenue near Southwest 8th Street when police saw Hernandez driving erratically, officials said. They tried to pull him over but that’s when he sped up at times trying to run police off the road as he drove against the flow of traffic, according to the police report.
When his car did stop, police said Hernandez wouldn’t get out of the car, forcing them to smash his window and drag him out. They said he was scrappy as he tensed up, even scratching and bruising a police officer who was treated on scene. Police say it took a few closed fist strikes to get Hernandez to comply.
In the end he was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital for the injuries he sustained. He was later booked into jail on charges including four counts of aggravated battery, cocaine possession, resisting arrest, as well as eluding police. Attorney information wasn't available.
