MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Traffic came to a complete halt Wednesday on the Palmetto Expressway in Miami-Dade County when a Florida Highway Patrol chase ended in a crash near Southwest Eighth Street.
According to FHP Lt. Alex Camacho, the incident occurred in the southbound lanes of the highway.
Camacho said a trooper had tried to pull over a Toyota SUV, but the driver, later identified as Nelson Jose Gomez-Leon, refused to stop.
According to Camacho, a short pursuit ensued, leading troopers to successfully execute a “PIT maneuver,” which caused the SUV to crash into the median concrete barrier wall.
Authorities said Gomez-Leon, 36, of Miami, got out of the wrecked SUV and tried to make a run for it.
He jumped a median and took off running, but video shows him being tackled and arrested in the middle of the highway.
According to an arrest report, the trooper who initially tried to conduct a traffic stop on Gomez-Leon’s SUV saw that he wasn’t wearing his seat belt, and activated his emergency equipment when he saw Gomez-Leon getting on the entrance ramp to the Palmetto from Northwest 87th Avenue.
Troopers said the SUV struck an RV after the PIT maneuver was executed before striking the barrier wall.
According to the report, Gomez-Leon exited the SUV through the driver-side window and then jumped over the barrier wall.
A trooper deployed a Taser, but was unable to make contact with Gomez-Leon. He when then tacked to the ground by HSI agents, the report stated.
Gomez-Leon was taken to the HCA Florida Doral Emergency Center to be medically cleared before he was transported to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
He faces multiple charges, including aggravated fleeing and eluding police after an accident, possession of ketamine, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of cocaine, resisting an officer with violence and driving with a suspended license.
As of Thursday afternoon, Gomez-Leon remained at TGK on an $8,153 bond.