Miami-Dade Cop Charged With Vehicular Homicide

MIAMI, FL — A veteran Miami-Dade police officer with three years on the force, was charged Wednesday with vehicular homicide in connection with a March 6 crash involving his patrol car. Prosecutors said Officer John Young Song was not responding to an emergency when he blew through a stop sign at 80 mph and crashed into the car of 45-year-old Emilio Jesus Vizcaino, who died from his injuries.

"It is always difficult for a police department to have to investigate one of its own," said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in announcing the charge. "The Miami-Dade Police Department's Traffic Homicide Unit conducted a thorough investigation which revealed that Officer Song's actions took the life of an innocent citizen.”

The crash occurred around 1:30 a.m. at SW 260th Street and SW 147th Avenue, a rural area of Miami-Dade County.

“The investigation by Miami-Dade Police Department Traffic Homicide investigators determined that at the time of the crash, Officer Song was on duty, and driving a marked 2015 police car westbound on SW 260th Street,” according to prosecutors. “Officer Song disregarded the stop sign for westbound traffic and entered the intersection at nearly 80 miles per hour. There is no evidence Officer Song had his lights or siren activated at that time, and was not responding to any emergency calls for service.”

The front of Officer Song's police vehicle crashed into the driver's door of Vizcaino's vehicle.

“A post-collision inspection of Officer Song's police car revealed that the headlight switch was in the "off" position, indicating that Officer Song likely did not have his headlights on while he was driving on the dark roads,” prosecutors said. “Mr. Vizcaino had no chance to avoid the collision with the officer.”

Miami-Dade Police Director Juan J. Perez said that the agency followed established procedures while conducting the investigation.

“We are committed to the highest professional standards, and will always endeavor to achieve our mission while being transparent and accountable for our actions,” he said.

Photo by Paul Scicchitano