He wasn’t supposed to be driving when he struck 5 people on a sidewalk, cops say

The man accused of plowing into a Miami Beach sidewalk Sunday afternoon, striking five people and leaving two infants in critical condition, was driving with a suspended license, police said.

It wasn’t exactly clear Monday afternoon why Matthew Timothy Miller had a suspended license, but Volusia County records show the Daytona Beach man failed to pay $938 in fines from speeding tickets and ignoring a traffic signal in 2017.

Miller, 29, was charged with careening his 2012 Mercedes-Benz into three adults and two infants on a sidewalk on Meridian Avenue and 18th Street, hitting a metal trash bin and a parking kiosk, before coming to a stop against a tree.

Police who interviewed Miller after the incident say he told them he had taken the pain killer Percocet. When police requested a blood sample, they said, Miller refused and asked for an attorney.

Police said one of the two infants struck by Miller is not expected to survive. Miller was arrested early Sunday evening and charged with two counts of reckless driving and causing serious bodily injury and knowingly driving with a suspended license.

His bond was set Monday at $252,000. WSVN Channel 7 reported he was also given a no-drive order.

According to police, Miller was driving his Mercedes-Benz north on Meridan when he crashed through road stop sticks and veered into the opposite lane. The car kept going north, police said, before driving onto the sidewalk and striking the five victims. Miller’s car eventually became lodged against a tree at 1770 Meridan Ave.

Miami Beach Fire Rescue had to extract Miller from his car. Miller was taken to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where police interviewed him, according to his arrest report.

State records show Miller was arrested and charged with retail theft and drug possession the past four years. Both cases were dismissed.

Miami-Dade County records show he was charged with careless driving on July 4, 2016, a charge eventually dismissed. A month later, North Bay Village police charged him with speeding and not wearing a seat belt. His license was suspended for eight days later in 2016 when he was late paying the $384.50 fines.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 1:20 PM with the headline "He wasn’t supposed to be driving when he struck 5 people on a sidewalk, cops say."