MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Witnesses say the minute before a 22-year-old Temple University student was fatally shot after driving her BMW into a police officer “played out like a movie set” on Miami Beach.
Police say Cariann Hithon of Bowie, Maryland, crashed into several cars Sunday as people watched from sidewalk cafes.
“It played out like a movie set with people running, screaming, car crashes, gunshots, an injured officer lying on his back on the ground — all within a minute,” retired Miami-Dade homicide detective John Butchko, whose car Hithon hit, told the Miami Herald .
Butchko’s passenger, Miami Beach lawyer Sean Ellsworth, added: “She just floored it.”
Miami-Dade police are investigating. Hithon was black. Both officers are white.
Hithon’s father, retired U.S. Navy Capt. Cary Hithon says he has “a lot of questions” about what happened.