An chase ended with a horrible tragedy in Margate on Saturday as an 18 year old passenger died.
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MARGATE (CBSMiami) – An chase ended with a horrible tragedy in Margate on Saturday as an 18 year old passenger died.
The driver is now facing charges, but there is more to this incident then meets the eye.
It involves Coconut Creek Police Department and circumstances that have the family demanding answers.
Abigail Espinosa was like a little sister to her cousin, Cindy Gonzales. The 18-year-old Espinosa graduated high school this year.
“She was my best friend,” Gonzales said. “She was literally my twin we talked the same we did the same.”
Espinosa died in a car crash early Saturday morning.
She was the passenger of a car that was involved in a chase that Coconut Creek Police only acknowledged after being pressed for answers by CBS4 News.
In a news release they say officers responding to a noise disturbance at the Olivine Apartment Complex noticed Abigail and a male driver parked in a car.
That officers saw a bottle of liquor and smelled alcohol and marijuana, and when they identified themselves the driver fled the scene.
When officers attempted to imitate a traffic stop, they say “the driver accelerated, abruptly made an improper U-turn, and fled…at a high rate of speed…at which time officers lost sight of the fleeing vehicle…less than a minute later a Margate police officer advised of a vehicle crash.”
“Came out and saw a lot of police activity, one car sitting over in the tree and another one sitting in the middle of the street,” said neighbor John Lawless.
Coconut creek police say the suspect vehicle lost control and strayed into the northbound lane and was hit by an oncoming car.
The Margate Police Department is investigating the crash.
Espinosa’s family is now looking for answers. They say the police have not told them anything and that Margate Police said they couldn’t give them any answers
“It doesn’t seem real, I’ve been waiting for a text from her all day that I’m never going to get now,” Gonzales said.
Charges against the suspect driver are pending further investigation by Margate Police.
The driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
