A routine lane-change stop on the Palmetto Expressway spiraled into a 115-mph chase through Miami-Dade County on June 11, ending with a trooper ramming the fleeing SUV, a foot chase through an apartment complex, and a discarded napkin of crack cocaine. Bryan Daniel Garcia, 36, now faces felony charges after the encounter, according to Florida Highway Patrol’s arrest report.
The chase began when a FHP trooper spotted a silver Hyundai SUV improperly changing lanes near Northwest 74th Street, cutting across two lanes and nearly causing a collision, as reported by NBC 6 South Florida. The SUV initially pulled over after the trooper observed the erratic driving, but the driver took off the moment the trooper stepped out of his patrol car, per the arrest report cited by the station.
What followed was a pursuit that pushed speeds over 115 mph, with Garcia allegedly running red lights, blowing through stop signs, and driving on the shoulder while nearly hitting multiple vehicles. At one point, a trooper bumped the SUV multiple times in an attempt to force it to stop, but Garcia kept fleeing. Troopers eventually lost sight of the vehicle, which was later found abandoned at an apartment complex.
Foot Chase Ends With Cocaine Discarded
Miami police officers found Garcia running from the apartment complex where the SUV had been left behind. During the pursuit on foot, he allegedly discarded a napkin containing a white rock-like substance that investigators believed to be crack cocaine, per the arrest report. He was taken into custody shortly after…