Yes, this took me long enough, I know. I hope it is still of some interest.

On my way home from an off-site meeting in western Broward I found myself in a bit of a situation. I was waiting at a traffic light when another car slammed into me from behind. I was startled, but not hurt, and turned around in my seat to see if the other person was okay.

To my amazement the car that had hit me backed up a little, cut its wheels to the right, and jerked forward to hit me again, starting to push my Lumina out of its lane. Suddenly I realized that the driver was trying to leave the scene of the accident, which astonished and infuriated me. Sure, this was in Opa Locka, not exactly a neighborhood known for its civility, but this was still exceptional behavior.

And then I heard the sirens. Many, many sirens, with their accompanying flashing lights visible in my rear-view mirror. This was not merely a typical Miami asshole — this was a pursuit.

The would-be escapees scraped their way up the side of my car, snapping off their driver's side mirror and nearly wedging themselves between my car and the semi in the right-hand lane. The truck didn't seem to notice them, though, and started its right onto 32nd Avenue, giving the thugs a chance to pull out and away from me. They sideswiped the SUV in front of me — and first at the light — then pulled into the intersection where they were promptly cut off by (and collided with) a squad car.

The car spun around and one guy jumped out and started to run, but was immediately surrounded by cops who ordered him to get down on the ground short distance in front of my car. The other guy drove toward the fire station on the far side of the intersection, being pursued by at least one motorcycle and an officer on foot. Moments later the driver reappeared, being escorted back across the street by a couple of cops.

When weird things like this happen time attenuates. I'm sure it was only thirty seconds between the initial impact and the Mirandizing of the suspects, but it seemed like forever. I confess, it was a little exhilerating at first, and yes, I immediately considered its suitability as posting material. Reality reasserted itself quickly, though, once the guns appeared. Suddenly I realized that had things gone just a little differently, I could have been in my floorboard hoping I didn't get shot.

Then the waiting started. There were at least two jurisdictions involved: Miami-Dade County and Hialeah. It was a fairly chaotic situation. A significant east-west road was blocked at the end of rush hour by a situation that can't just be moved to the shoulder, and no-one knew who was in charge. I sat in my car for at least ten or fifteen minutes before an officer approached me, asking if anyone had taken my statement yet. I said no, he took my license and registration, and disappeared with them.

A few minutes later the Hialeah crime scene team arrived with a couple of vans. A guy started taking pictures of everything, and three very young (and very attractive, I should add) crime scene investigators handled the rest of the duties — paint samples, measuring debris patterns, etc. It was interesting to watch, but being stuck in the driver's seat limited my viewing angle. I would have taken a lot of photos, myself, but I didn't feel comfortable. I knew I had the right to do so, but well, it was mainly interesting to me.

Another officer came by and asked for my papers, and seemed confused when I said someone had already taken them and not returned them yet. He walked a short distance away, asking loudly who had the second driver's license. It took a while, but eventually they were located. When the officer returned them to me, he got a puzzled look. "Hey, are you okay? Has anyone come to check on you?" I thanked him for his concern, and told him that yes I was okay, and no, this was the first time anyone had asked. He shook his head sadly and apologized.

I asked if it was okay if I got out of my car to stretch my legs, and he gave me the go-ahead, promising they would wrap things up soon. When I did I noticed that the perps were in the back of the squad car beside mine. They didn't look happy at all, but to be fair, they also looked pretty seriously fried. I wouldn't even bet that they knew what was going on.

So I walked around to the other side of my car and surveyed the damage. I had thought it would have been worse, not that this is light damage. USAA hates me by now, I'm sure. (The estimate is $1600, by the way.)

A short time later a woman asked me for my phone numbers, and gave me the case numbers for the incident. I wrote them down, a bit surprised that they didn't give me a copy of the case report, and as I finished the detective in charge (in plain clothes) stopped by.

"I'm really sorry you got pulled into this," he said. "This whole thing is my responsibility. I was at the side of the road back by the correctional facility and these guys were flying toward me so I flashed the lights to warn them to slow down. When I did I guess they panicked and swerved toward me, so I started in pursuit. And that's how this happened."

I assured him I wasn't upset with them, and that I was just glad the guys were caught and no-one was hurt. That's when he dropped the bomb.

"Yeah, between the drugs and all the guns in their car, I'm glad we caught them. Miami-Dade tells me they think these guys are behind a string of armed robberies in the area. They certainly aren't going anywhere now."

With that he asked for one of the traffic cops to hold the intersection so I could pull out, and I was out of there.

Two final notes on this. First, the woman from USAA Claims was amused at the story — hey, she asked for the details! — and then said "I had always heard how dangerous Miami is! I can't see how anyone would want to live there!" Ah, we'll never manage to live down our reputation.

Lastly, I had intended to link to the news story about the incident. I mean, a high-speed police pursuit in rush hour that ends with two possible armed robbers in custody, that has to be newsworthy, right? Apparently not.

Maybe we do deserve that reputation.