It happened early Friday morning in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. A woman was hit and killed, and the suspect was not caught until late Friday afternoon, police said.
The woman on foot was stuck near Southwest 22nd Avenue and 8th Street, according to Miami Police. The victim was named as 41-year-old Kathryn Carlin Kipnis, and she was declared dead at 1:20 a.m.
Police said the person who they think hit and ran was later caught and taken into custody. Ivana Gomez, who is 32 years old, was named as the woman.
The police report says that Gomez had driven past a police officer in her BMW at a high speed just before she hit the man.
The BMW wouldn’t stop until it got to a red light and two cars were in front of her. This happened even after the officer turned on his lights and sound.
The police officer wrote in the report that Gomez’s breath smelled strongly of alcohol and her eyes were red and watery.
The report says that the victim was hit so hard that some of her hair was stuck in the BMW’s window and on the headrest for the front passenger.
Early in the morning, police and fire relief workers were at the scene, where the body of the victim could be seen lying on the ground in the middle of the road. Later, the body was taken away by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner.
A few blocks away, police were looking at the BMW with the broken windshield and heavy damage to the front end.
The report says Gomez had trouble with a field sobriety exercise and wouldn’t do any more until she asked for a lawyer.
“Spontaneously stated that it was just a homeless person that I hit and it is just an accident,” the report said.
Gomez was first charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and fighting an officer without violence. However, the report said that she was searched and two blood samples were taken from her.
Most of the neighbors were asleep when it happened, but they said they worry about cars who speed all the time in the area.
“There are always fast cars going by, and you can often hear street racing and see people jaywalking,” said Ernesto Pollo, a local. “I knew it was going to happen sooner or later because the conditions are all there.”
