Stolen SUV Pursuit Ends in Fatal Crash on I-95; Murder Suspect Found Dead

On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Kingsland Police pursued a stolen black GMC Arcadia on I-95 northbound. The SUV had been reported stolen from Brevard County, Florida. Patrol officers attempted to stop the vehicle using a PIT maneuver, with one officer striking the fleeing vehicle. The pursuit ended when the SUV crashed into trees.

Officers approached the vehicle cautiously and found the driver deceased with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Several law enforcement agencies where involved throughout the chase. The driver was identified as 42-year-old Michael Alan Smith of Melbourne, FL. Smith was wanted for murder by the Melbourne Police Department and had numerous other warrants for violent crimes.

Detectives in Central Florida reported that Smith had been spotted earlier in Jacksonville before crossing into Camden County, South Georgia. Smith was wanted for killing Westley A. Lopes, 39, at a bar in Melbourne on Sunday night. According to Melbourne police, Smith was in the back seat of an older model vehicle driven by an unidentified woman. He asked the driver to stop in the parking lot near the pub to meet Lopes. Smith, Lopes, and the driver were in the car when Smith and Lopes got into an argument. Smith exited the vehicle and repeatedly shot Lopes before pulling Lopes’ body out of the car and leaving it in the parking lot.

Smith then forced the woman to drive to the Malabar Road and Interstate 95 exit in Palm Bay, where he ordered her out of the vehicle. Smith took the car and drove away. The driver called the police, and a search began with the assistance of the sheriff’s helicopter. Smith abandoned the car and stole a pickup truck, which he drove to Georgia.

The investigation is ongoing.