Photo: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
An ex-athlete who drove his car into a father and his 2 children as they went biking in Tampa, Florida, did so on purpose, Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said in a press conference.
Mikese Morse, 30, a former track star and United States Olympic Trials qualifier, was arrested on Sunday after the accident. He admitted to using his car, a burgundy Dodge Caliber, to attack a father and his 2 young kids, and showed no sign remorse, NDTV reports.
According to the latest police statement, that’s because he had planned the attack beforehand, even though he didn’t know the victims, Pedro Aguerreberry and his sons, Bennett and Lucas. Posts on social media, including videos on Instagram, show a deranged Morse say things like “I’m going to kill somebody” and “The universe can end now.”
Eyewitnesses have told police that they saw the Dodge stop at the sight of the bikers on their lane, make a U-turn and then pursue them before hitting them. Aguerreberry had his younger son in a trailer, while the elder was on his own bike. The children were taken to the hospital with serious injuries but will recover; the father died on the spot.
After the accident, Morse fled the scene and drove the car back to his parents. A few hours later, when the cops arrived, he had placed taped across the windshield to try and cover the damage, and was preparing to sit down for dinner with his parents.
Morse’s mother told the police that he had a “debilitating” mental illness and that he was refusing to take his meds. He had been admitted for mental evaluation against his will just recently, and had been showing signs of psychosis on the day of the accident.
Though the police investigation is still underway, it’s clear that he smashed the bikers on purpose.
“This was not someone who just veered off the road and was distracted driving,” Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said. “This was purposefully done. He appears to be someone who is disturbed.What type of person would purposely run over a family that was just bicycling down a bike path?”
Morse has been charged with murder in the first degree, for which he’s looking at life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
According to the latest police statement, that’s because he had planned the attack beforehand, even though he didn’t know the victims, Pedro Aguerreberry and his sons, Bennett and Lucas. Posts on social media, including videos on Instagram, show a deranged Morse say things like “I’m going to kill somebody” and “The universe can end now.”
Eyewitnesses have told police that they saw the Dodge stop at the sight of the bikers on their lane, make a U-turn and then pursue them before hitting them. Aguerreberry had his younger son in a trailer, while the elder was on his own bike. The children were taken to the hospital with serious injuries but will recover; the father died on the spot.
After the accident, Morse fled the scene and drove the car back to his parents. A few hours later, when the cops arrived, he had placed taped across the windshield to try and cover the damage, and was preparing to sit down for dinner with his parents.
Morse’s mother told the police that he had a “debilitating” mental illness and that he was refusing to take his meds. He had been admitted for mental evaluation against his will just recently, and had been showing signs of psychosis on the day of the accident.
Though the police investigation is still underway, it’s clear that he smashed the bikers on purpose.
“This was not someone who just veered off the road and was distracted driving,” Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said. “This was purposefully done. He appears to be someone who is disturbed.What type of person would purposely run over a family that was just bicycling down a bike path?”
Morse has been charged with murder in the first degree, for which he’s looking at life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
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