Authorities said the driver fled deputies in a stolen GMC van before crashing through a marina gate and into the water Sunday night.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — A woman died and a man was injured after authorities said a driver fleeing law enforcement in a stolen van crashed through a gate at a Fort Lauderdale marina and into a canal Sunday night, ending a chase that began miles away in West Park.
The crash quickly became more than a water rescue. By Monday, Broward Sheriff’s Office investigators said the driver, identified as Michael Malik Harvey, was facing felony murder and several other charges after the female passenger was pulled from the submerged van and later pronounced dead at a hospital. The case drew attention across Broward County because it involved a stolen vehicle, a multi-agency pursuit, a violent crash and a death at the end of a rescue operation witnessed by vacationers and marina guests.
Investigators said the chain of events began about 7:25 p.m. Sunday when a Broward sheriff’s deputy saw a white GMC van being driven recklessly in the 4000 block of Southwest 33rd Avenue in West Park. A tag check showed the van had been reported stolen out of Miami-Dade County, according to authorities. Deputies said the driver did not stop when the deputy activated emergency lights. Instead, Harvey struck the deputy’s marked vehicle and kept going, investigators said. That early collision changed the case from a traffic stop into a criminal pursuit. Authorities said the deputy stayed at the original crash scene, but the van was spotted again a short time later by another officer near Hallandale Beach Boulevard west of Interstate 95. Investigators said Harvey then turned the van toward a police vehicle, forcing the officer to take evasive action. From there, officials said, several law enforcement agencies became involved as the van continued north and west toward Fort Lauderdale.
The pursuit ended at Yacht Haven Park & Marina along the 2300 block of State Road 84, where witnesses said the van burst through the property’s gate and sped toward the water. Local residents and visitors said the calm of a Sunday evening changed almost instantly. Liam Lenihan, who was near the marina, said the van came through the entrance with such force that it destroyed the gate. James Bardwell, another witness, said the vehicle went between two pilings and sank fast after hitting the canal. Bardwell said officers rushed in and pulled the driver from the water, then began CPR almost immediately. Lenihan said the man regained consciousness and told officers a woman was still inside. Witnesses said divers and rescue crews then searched for the passenger for several more minutes before pulling her out. Fire rescue personnel took both people to Broward Health Medical Center, but the woman later died. Authorities did not release her name Monday, and they had not publicly said how long the van remained submerged before both occupants were removed.
The scene stretched late into the night at the marina, where patrol cars, fire units and dive personnel crowded the entrance and the water’s edge. Witnesses described seeing eight or nine police vehicles arrive after the van entered the canal. The property, known as Yacht Haven Park & Marina, sits along the South Fork New River and serves boaters and RV travelers near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Interstate 95. That setting made the crash especially jarring for people who said they had been spending a quiet evening at the resort. Anita Taylor, who saw part of the response, said the rescue was hard to watch. Her brief account matched what others described: a sudden crash, a rush of officers to the water and a long, tense wait as divers searched for the second occupant. By daylight Monday, the site had become both a crime scene and the final point in a chase that started in another city, underscoring how quickly a pursuit can cross municipal lines in densely built Broward County.
Authorities said Harvey suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening. By Monday, investigators said he was facing charges that included felony murder, aggravated fleeing and eluding causing death, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, grand theft of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a crash involving an occupied vehicle. The felony murder count stood out because it tied the passenger’s death to the crimes investigators say were already underway during the chase. Officials did not say Monday whether additional counts could be added, whether Harvey had retained a lawyer or when his first court appearance would be held. Investigators also had not publicly identified the dead passenger or described the relationship, if any, between Harvey and the woman. It also remained unclear whether the woman was aware the van had been reported stolen, whether she had any chance to escape before the vehicle sank, or whether authorities would release body camera, dashboard camera or surveillance video from the marina. Those unanswered questions are likely to shape the next phase of the investigation.
For now, the known record is narrow but significant. Investigators say the van was stolen out of Miami-Dade County. They say Harvey hit one marked law enforcement vehicle during the attempted stop, then drove in a way that forced another officer to avoid being struck. They say he entered the marina driving the wrong way, crashed through a closed metal gate and plunged into the canal. Those details form the backbone of the criminal case and explain why authorities treated the incident as more than a fatal crash. They also help explain the sequence in local news coverage, which changed over the course of Monday. Early reports described two people being rescued and taken to the hospital. Later reporting, after law enforcement provided more information, confirmed that the female passenger had died and that the driver was being booked on serious felony counts. That progression is common in fast-moving breaking news, especially when rescue work, hospital treatment and criminal charging decisions unfold over several hours.
The next steps are procedural but important. Investigators said the case remains active. That means Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives are still expected to complete witness interviews, collect any surveillance footage from the marina, review reports from the officers involved and wait for medical findings that could become part of the prosecution. The passenger’s identity had not been released by Monday afternoon, suggesting authorities may still have been working to notify relatives. Harvey, meanwhile, is expected to move from medical treatment into the court process if he had not already done so by late Monday. In a case like this, prosecutors typically rely on charging documents, crash evidence, officer statements and medical records to establish how the death occurred and how it relates to the alleged felonies that led up to the crash. Public records filed over the next day or two could clarify the probable cause narrative, bond status and any initial hearing date. Until then, the broad outline is set, but many of the details that often define a fatal pursuit case remain under seal or unannounced.
Even with those gaps, the human details from the marina have already shaped how the crash is being remembered. Witnesses did not describe a long standoff or a slow rescue. They described a violent burst of motion, a splash, then frantic work in dark water. Bardwell said officers got to the driver quickly and started CPR right away. Lenihan said the woman was not pulled out until 15 to 20 minutes later. Taylor said simply that what she saw was disturbing. Those short accounts do not answer the legal questions that investigators still have to resolve, but they do capture the fear and confusion at the scene. For travelers staying nearby, it was the kind of event that turns a routine night into a lasting memory. For law enforcement and prosecutors, it now stands as a death investigation tied to a stolen vehicle and a pursuit across several Broward communities.
As of Monday evening, authorities had identified the driver, listed the charges and confirmed the passenger’s death, but they had not released the woman’s name or announced a court schedule. The next public milestone is likely to be a booking or first-appearance record, along with any additional details investigators release about the victim and the chase.
Author note: Last updated March 23, 2026.