Another Hit and Run
A petty crime spree by two Miami-Dade men following a night of gambling at the Hard Rock casino ended in the death of two cyclists who found themselves in the path the duo’s getaway car.
Killed when the vehicle careened into them as they took their usual Sunday morning ride were cyclist Dean Amelkin, 60, of Coral Springs, and Christopher McConnell, 61, of Cooper City.
The tragedy began hours earlier with Obrian Ricardo Oakley, 26, of Miami, and Sadik Rashad Baxter, 25, of Miami Gardens, spending Saturday night gambling at the Hard Rock, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
Early Sunday morning, the two decided to head to Cooper City to see what they could steal from parked cars in the Rock Creek neighborhood.
BSO said the two went car-to-car looking for unlocked doors. They managed to break into five cars before a neighbor called the police.
BSO officers arrived and arrested Baxter, but Oakley sped away in his girlfriend’s silver Infiniti.
As he ran a red light at Northwest 101st Avenue and Sheridan Street, a red Toyota Corolla slammed into Oakley, sending the Infiniti spinning into the intersection, where it slammed into the two cyclists.
The men died at the scene.