A South Florida woman who crashed when she said a Miami-Dade Police cruiser cut her off is speaking out after she said the incident left her and her 2-year-old daughter injured.
It was around 1:15 p.m. Wednesday when Priscilla Guerra was trying to get on the Turnpike Extension in the Cutler Bay area when she rear-ended a red pickup truck.
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WATCH HEREGuerra said she was running an errand and trying to get home with her 2-year-old daughter in the car.
"It’s scary because my daughter was in the car. I was more worried for her than me," an emotional Guerra told NBC6 on Thursday.
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Guerra said she had scrapes on her arm, and her daughter was left with a mark from her seatbelt on her neck.
"I was more shaken up and you know, like terrified and more worried for her than anything, like they asked me 'are you OK?' I’m like 'yeah, yeah, my arm's fine but don’t worry about me, worry about her,'" she said.
Just before the crash, Guerra said she noticed several cars with dark tints speeding past her.
"With the black tints, just going down, speeding and curving in and out of lanes in the emergency lanes, cutting people off and I was like 'what’s going on?'" she said.
It's possible those cars were chasing two suspects who police said led them on a pursuit in a stolen SUV from Florida City and onto the Palmetto Expressway.
The chase ended with authorities boxing in the SUV and taking the suspects into custody at gunpoint.
But around the same time, police were responding to another incident involving an officer who was rear-ended and had to be hospitalized.
Both incidents unfolded almost simultaneously and near the same area of Miami-Dade.
Moments after the cars with dark tints passed her, Guerra said a marked Miami-Dade Police car got in front of her.
"They cut in front of me, and then to avoid hitting the truck that I ended up crashing into, they kind of like jerked back into the lane," Guerra said. "When I noticed that that car was either slowing down or stopping because of all the commotion going on themselves, I went to brake and by the time I broke, I ended up crashing into him."
Guerra said she believes that had the police vehicles activated their lights and sirens, it's possible her crash could have been avoided.
"They were answering a call with no lights on, that’s my issue. They could’ve had lights on to avoid people getting in their way," she said.
It's unclear if the police were heading to the pursuit or to assist the officer injured in the separate crash.
The Florida Highway Patrol found Guerra at fault and issued her a $179 ticket for careless driving. She intends to fight it.
"I hit the guy but it could’ve been avoided if the cops had their lights on," she said.
NBC6 reached out to Miami-Dade Police, and a spokesperson said the lead vehicle is supposed to have their lights and sirens on, but it's unclear exactly what call if any the officer Guerra described was going to.
