A hit-and-run driver who stole a woman's car then fatally ran her over with it in Miami Thursday morning has been arrested, police said.
Jonah Desaulniers, 23, was charged with first-degree murder and was being held without bond, Miami Police officials said Friday.
The incident happened around 5:45 a.m. Thursday in the area of Southwest 27th Avenue and 22nd Terrace. According to Miami Police, Desaulniers was stealing the victim's car when he was confronted by the victim, who was later identified as 71-year-old Mercedes Lopez.
Desaulniers intentionally ran over Lopez while escaping, police said. Lopez died at the scene.
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Shortly after that crash, Coral Gables Police arrived at the scene of another hit-and-run crash at the intersection of Miracle Mile and Salzedo Street. No injuries were reported.
The vehicle involved in that crash, a brown Honda SUV, matched the description of the one involved in the Miami crash, police said.
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Police found the SUV and took Desaulniers into custody. He was taken to a nearby hospital and treated before being released into police custody and booked into jail.
"Detectives continued to do an ongoing investigation and it has been determined that he did in fact steal the victim’s car and used her car to run her over,” Miami Police spokesperson Kiara Delva said. "We want our community to know that we do not take these types of cases lightly and we are very sad to report that someone has lost their life as a result."
Court records showed Desaulniers has a lengthy record of traffic tickets from 2016 to 2018.
