Bicyclist hospitalized after being struck by SUV during high speed chase discusses incident, injuries
MIAMI – A high-speed police chase came to a crashing end on Wednesday in Broward County, as a stolen SUV ended up on its roof on I-95 in Hollywood.
There were five juveniles inside the stolen vehicle.
The suspects were identified on Thursday; the oldest are both 16 years old, Demetrius Major and Rashaun Craig.
The other suspects are even younger; two are 14 years old and one is 12 years old.
One of the 14-year-old suspects appeared in front of a Broward County judge on Thursday.
During the chase, the stolen SUV hit a man who was riding a bicycle at the intersection of Sistrunk Boulevard and Northwest 27th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.
The SUV did not stop to render aid.
“A blue car came around. I can hear all the cop cars. It came around and it hit him,” Shainnia Stroder, who witnessed the crash, said. “Some of the cops had stopped when he fell and rolled on the ground.”
The bicyclist has been identified as 34-year-old Michael Evans. He was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale with non-life-threatening injures, though he was still pretty banged up.
Evans spoke to members of the media on Thursday from Broward Health.
“As soon as it happened, I know what happened and I dragged myself to the grass, out of the middle of the street,” Evans said. “It could have been a lot worse, and I know that. Part of that makes me really grateful.”
Evans’ mother spoke with Local 10 News Wednesday night about the injuries her son sustained earlier in the day.
“He has multiple fractures on his neck and spine, a laceration on his head and ear that he needed morphine for, and now they’re looking at his knees that started to swell,” said Michelle Evans, Michael’s mother.
A GoFundMe page was started to help Evans with his medical expenses.
According to police, charges for the five juveniles include multiple counts of grand theft auto, burglary of an occupied dwelling, fleeing and eluding and leaving the scene of a crash with injuries.
Local 10 has learned that between the two 16-year-old suspects and the two 14-year-old suspects, all of them have previous grand theft of a motor vehicle and burglary charges, some from within the last two months.
