Woman crashes while chasing suspect after vehicle break-in, police say

WSVN, BUSINESS SURVEILLANCE, MIAMI-DADE CORRECTIONS & REHABILITATION, CNN

By Carolina Borges, Patrick Chalvire, Jessica Holly, Sheldon Fox

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    MIAMI (WSVN) — A South Florida woman crashed her car into another vehicle while pursuing a suspect who allegedly broke into her car and stole her belongings, according to Miami Police.

The incident occurred on Northwest Second Avenue and 22nd Lane, where officers responded to reports of a car accident that led to an altercation.

Miurell Vargas, a waitress in Wynwood, was working nearby when she was alerted about a potential break-in of her vehicle.

“My window was broken and my wallet wasn’t there and neither was my purse,” said Vargas.

After inspecting her vehicle, she spotted the suspect, identified by police as 41-year-old Luis Enrique Machado, with her Nike drawstring backpack.

Once she followed the thief in her vehicle, police reported she was “so focused on him” that she collided with another car as she made a turn.

“It wasn’t because of the cash value,” said Vargas. “My mom’s picture was in my wallet and my mom passed away eight years ago, so that was of sentimental value for me that I needed to recover.”

After the crash, the victim attempted to retrieve her backpack and wallet from the suspect. At one point caught on surveillance video, Vargas is seen punching the man in an attempt to free him from her belongings, resulting in Machado receiving a black eye.

“Did you give the guy the black eye?” asked a reporter.

“I didn’t see him,” said Vargas. “I didn’t see him after that.”

“He was yelling [that] it wasn’t my bag and that I was crazy,” said Vargas. “That made me even more mad because he knew it was my bag. He put his hand behind him so I thought he was gonna pull out a knife or a gun and that’s when I started punching him.”

As soon as the punches stopped, officers quickly arrived at the scene and arrested Machado.

Machado was charged with burglary, criminal mischief, and petty theft after he admitted to possessing the stolen items but denied the theft. He has past criminal history including charges of drug possession, fraud, and burglary.

Security video shows Vargas hugging the unlucky driver whose car she hit.

“I just wanna say sorry to the person that I crashed into,” said Vargas

She was issued a ticket for the crash but said she doesn’t regret what she did but certainly doesn’t recommend it.

“I had so much adrenaline in me that I didn’t think about the consequences,” said Vargas.

Other than Machado’s black eye, no other injuries were reported.

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