A driver has been arrested after he was accused of intentionally hitting a Miami-Dade firefighter with his car while trying to get around a crash scene, authorities said.
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Younes Bekkali, 38, was arrested Saturday on charges including aggravated battery on a firefighter with a deadly weapon and failure to obey a firefighter, an arrest report said.
The incident happened around 5:30 a.m. Thursday after a multi-vehicle crash on the Palmetto Expressway near Northwest 74th Avenue.
According to the report, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighter was directing traffic as Bekkali, driving a purple Dodge Challenger, was attempting to bypass the restricted crash scene.
The firefighter had repositioned a fire truck to block traffic then got out and instructed Bekkali to use an alternate route, but Bekkali disregarded the instructions and “intentionally accelerated his vehicle, using it as a deadly weapon, thus striking the victim about his legs and knocking him back a few feet,” the report said.
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Bekkali then got out of his car and pushed the firefighter multiple times before he got back in and fled, the report said.
The vehicle was identified and the firefighter identified Bekkali as the driver in a photo array, the report said.
Bekkali was taken into custody Saturday, and denied his involvement but was booked into jail. Attorney information wasn’t available.
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