Man arrested after deadly Broward chase ends with passenger’s death, officials say
A man accused of fleeing police in a stolen vehicle Sunday in Broward County has been arrested on felony murder and other charges after crashing into a canal, killing his passenger, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
At around 7:25 p.m. on March 22, a deputy attempted to stop the driver, identified as 18-year-old Michael Malik Harvey, who was seen driving recklessly in a stolen white GMC van in the 4000 block of SW 33rd Avenue in West Park, BSO officials said in a news release.
This marks the third pursuit to involve a deadly crash within the past five weeks in Broward County.
After BSO confirmed that Harvey was driving a stolen van from Miami-Dade County by checking the vehicle’s tag, a deputy attempted to pull him over, officials said.
Harvey failed to stop and allegedly struck a marked patrol vehicle as he fled. The deputy did not pursue and remained at the scene, according to the news release.
A short time later, a Pembroke Park Police officer saw the van driving east on West Hallandale Beach Boulevard, just west of I-95. Harvey reached an area near Oakwood Plaza where he turned toward the marked police car, “forcing the officer to take evasive action to avoid being struck,” according to the news release.
“A multi-agency pursuit ensued based on the aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer,” the news release says.
BSO officials did not answer Pembroke Pines News questions on which agencies were involved in the pursuit when contacted on March 24.
The pursuit ended when Harvey drove into Yatch Haven Park & Marina, an RV park located at 2323 State Road 84 in Fort Lauderdale, ramming the van through a closed metal exit gate and into a canal, authorities said.
Deputies, along with the agency’s dive team and Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, responded to the scene.
Harvey was pulled from the water and taken to a hospital with “non-life threatening injuries,” authorities said.
The female passenger was also removed from the canal and transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her identity has not been released as of March 24.
The investigation remains active and ongoing, with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigating the in-custody death, while BSO detectives are investigating the circumstances leading up to the crash and the woman’s death.
According to authorities, Harvey faces charges including “felony murder, aggravated fleeing and eluding causing death, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, grand theft of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a crash involving an occupied vehicle.”
Third death from pursuit in past month
Sunday’s crash is at least the third deadly incident tied to pursuits in Broward County in the past five weeks.
Ronald Wilson, 74, died on Feb. 16 when a BSO deputy collided with his vehicle while pursuing a suspected car thief, according to investigators.
Ten days later, 74-year-old Bonnie Bouffard died in a crash on Florida’s Turnpike near Sunrise Boulevard during a pursuit involving the Florida Highway Patrol and BSO.
BSO policy allows deputies to initiate pursuits in certain situations, including when a suspect is believed to have committed a “forcible felony,” such as aggravated assault.
The agency’s guidelines note that pursuits require “greater degrees of caution, skill, common sense and sound judgment for emergency operations,” their handbook says.
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Man arrested after deadly Broward chase ends with passenger’s death, officials say."
