Vehicle Strikes Police Car, Bursts Into Flames

MIAMI, FL — Traffic was disrupted along busy Biscayne Boulevard during Wednesday's morning rush hour after a vehicle rear-ended a Miami-Dade police cruiser and burst into flames. Police said the officer and the female driver of the car that struck the police car were both taken to nearby Aventura Hospital and Medical Center. The accident happened shortly before 3 a.m.

Detective Lee Cowart of the Miami-Dade Police Department told Patch that the woman was in her 20s but police were not immediately releasing her name or the name of the officer involved. The crash happened at Biscayne Boulevard and NE 135 Street, a busy stretch of highway south of Aventura Mall and north of Flanagan's.

"The Miami-Dade police officer exited his vehicle and was able to get to her vehicle and extract her from the vehicle with the assistance of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper," Cowart said.

Traffic was being rerouted in both directions of Biscayne Boulevard well into Wednesday morning.

"The Miami-Dade officer was sitting at the red light when vehicle two crashed into the back of him," Cowart said.

Police were still investigating the cause of the collision.

Photo by Paul Scicchitano