MIAMI
Several blocks of a northwest Miami-Dade County neighborhood remained cordoned off Monday morning after a police-involved shooting that left one man dead.
The incident began as a traffic accident at Northwest 81st Street and 5th Avenue, near the entrance ramp to Interstate 95.
According to investigators, around 6:30 a.m., a car and cab collided, killing the cab driver.
"The driver of the cab was deceased on the scene," said Miami-Dade Police Lt. Rosanna Corero-Stetz.
When police arrived at the scene, they say the man whose car hit the cab took off on foot.
"The driver of the second vehicle had fled on foot and a second occupant was also on scene," Corero-Stetz said.
A passenger inside the suspect's car was hurt in the crash but she remained at the scene. She was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Several calls to police reported an injured man running through a nearby neighborhood. That's when an officer spotted the suspect on Little River Road, North Shore Hospital.
"She pursued him on foot leaving her vehicle," Corero-Stetz said. "At some point, there was a confrontation between the two of them and shots were exchanged.
The suspect then got into the officer's car and drove away.
After a short chase, the suspect hit a fence at NW 91st Street and 18th Avenue. Once again, gunfire erupted.
"Well I knew it was gunshots," a witness told Local 10's Todd Tongen. "My first instinct was to was to get down and get everybody out of the way because I was near the window and I didn't know where the bullets were going to fly."
The suspect was killed inside the patrol car. No officers were injured.
Crime scene investigators were collecting evidence as a police helicopter flew overhead and even Miami Dade Police Dir. James Loftus arrived at the location.
It is a scene neighbors say is all too familiar.
"I am not surprised at anything that happens in Dade County right now," said neighborhood resident Nestor Barnes.
The investigation continues.
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