Two women and two men were killed and another man was injured in a wrong way crash on Interstate 95 between Hallandale Beach Boulevard and Ives Dairy Road after a brief police pursuit early Wednesday.
Opa-locka police officers began pursuing a black Chevy Suburban after an officer observed suspicious activity at Northwest 22nd Avenue and 144th Street, police say. Police identified the driver as Paolo Lafrance.
Lafrance, 24, then drove through Miami Gardens and onto northbound I-95, police say. He exited at Ives Dairy Road, where a gun was thrown out of the vehicle. Officers recovered the weapon on the northbound exit of Ives Dairy Road.
Lafrance then got back onto I-95 at Ives Dairy Road, but was driving northbound in the southbound lanes, police said. Police stopped their pursuit at that time.
Moments later, Lafrance crashed head-on with a minivan, killing the four people inside.
Lafrance was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood with two broken legs. He was charged initially with fleeing or attempt to elude a law enforcement officer in a marked vehicle. Other charges are pending.
Opa-locka Assistant City Manager David Chiverton said Lafrance had several prior arrests.
The identities of those killed in the crash have also not yet been released. Joe Sanchez with the Florida Highway Patrol said they were from out of state.
The crash shut down all southbound lanes between Hallandale Beach Boulevard and Ives Dairy Road for several hours. The interstate reopened about 9 a.m.
"Let me just say that I've been doing this for about 25 years and this is one of the worst accidents that I have seen," said Sanchez.
The officer who began the pursuit was put on administrative leave.