Man responsible for MacArthur Causeway crash was driving drunk at 100 mph, arrest documents say
The driver who police said was responsible for the horrific crash that left a young woman fighting for her life in the hospital and another injured, causing the MacArthur Causeway to shut down for hours on Friday morning, was driving drunk at over 100 mph at the time, arrest documents said.
Nicholas Devon Robinson, 24, was arrested and charged with DUI and reckless driving both resulting in serious bodily injury after he crashed into 18-year-old Gabriela Rios Flores' car at high speeds in the early hours of Friday morning, ejecting her from the car and shutting down the MacArthur for over nine hours.
A witness of the crash told CBS News Miami that both people hospitalized were local college students.
According to arrest documents, Robinson was driving a silver Polestar Model 2 that collided with Flores' Jeep Wrangler, which was disabled on the left side of westbound lanes of the MacArthur Causeway, just west of Terminal Isle.
Flores was taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she remains in critically unstable condition. According to trauma unit doctors, she is not expected to survive, the arrest documents said.
Robinson appeared in bond court on Saturday afternoon, where the judge set his bond at $100,000 and ordered him to be fitted with a GPS monitor.
The crash
Moments before the crash, a Miami Beach Police K-9 officer helped push Flores' Jeep out of the roadway and onto the shoulder to get out of the way of traffic. Once the officer made a U-turn on Bridge Road to head east, he saw a silver sedan—later revealed to be Robinson's Polestar—speeding west at an estimated 100 mph in a 40 mph zone, the arrest documents said. At that time, the officer saw Robinson lose control of his car and begin to swerve.
Robinson's Polestar then struck a cement road divider and continued driving forward until it struck the back of Flores' Jeep. This caused her car to overturn another road divider and eject her from the vehicle. Another person was also injured in the crash.
At nearly the same time, a Miami Beach Police sergeant was driving west on the MacArthur when he saw Robinson's Polestar speeding. Once he passed the first officer, he suddenly saw "a large amount of debris going up in the air" but not the crash itself, the arrest documents said, prompting the sergeant to head to the scene.
Upon reaching the crash area, the sergeant then conducted a traffic stop, pointed his gun at the Polestar and ordered Robinson to step out of the car before putting him in handcuffs.
As he was being detained, Robinson spontaneously asked the sergeant "Why are you stopping me, it's my birthday and did you get the other car," appearing to be completely unaware that he had just caused a serious car crash, the arrest documents said. Robinson was then placed into another Miami Beach Police vehicle, where he threw up in the back seat.
A Miami Beach Police detective then came to the crash site, where he saw Robinson exhibit "possible signs of impairment," who told the detective that he was out celebrating his birthday at a lounge. According to the arrest documents, Robinson had slurred speech and an odor of an alcoholic beverage, prompting the detective to ask him to take a blood test; however, Robinson refused.
Then another detective arrived at the scene of the crash and also noticed Robinson exhibiting signs of being under the influence, including having bloodshot and watery eyes and an odor of alcohol coming from his breath.
Due to the circumstances surrounding the crash, detectives requested Miami Beach Fire Rescue to draw Robinson's blood while on the scene once a search warrant was obtained. He was then taken to the Miami Beach Police Station for further processing.