Employee arrested in deadly 122 mph crash while driving Cadillac dealership car

An employee of a Broward County Cadillac dealership is facing charges in connection with a deadly violent crash last year where he was allegedly speeding as high as 122 mph before impact, police said.

Amun-Ra Caleb Earls, 23, took a new Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing from the Vera Cadillac in Pembroke Pines and was using it to run personal errands on the night of April 26, 2024, a probable cause affidavit said. He worked there as a temporary employee refueling cars and moving them between lots.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m., Earls crashed the dealership car into a 2013 Honda CR-V in the intersection of Pembroke Road and Island Drive, allegedly speeding nearly three times over the area’s speed limit seconds before the crash, the affidavit said.

The Honda, which was making a turn at the intersection at 17 mph, was violently split in half by the impact with the front half flying nearly 300 feet away from where the cars crashed, according to the affidavit.

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Earls’ speed equated to traveling nearly 180 feet per second just before the crash. The “young woman” who was killed was taking her normal route home from work, according to the affidavit. Information about her, including her name and age, was redacted in the court document.

Witnesses told police the crash was loud and sent smoke and debris into the air. One witness said Earls seemed to be uninjured while the woman driving the Honda appeared to be dead at the scene. The witness covered her body with a coat. Earls got out of the car, put his hands up and cursed “after realizing the other person was dead,” the witness said, according to the affidavit.

Earls while at Memorial Regional Hospital told detectives that he had worked late that night and was driving to his girlfriend’s grandmother’s house in Hollywood when he crashed, the affidavit said. He had driven it on multiple errands that evening without permission and said it was typical for him to drive the dealership’s cars to his home or to get food during his breaks.

He estimated he was driving at 45 mph when he crashed, according to the affidavit. He agreed to give a blood sample, which showed he had not been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.

The Cadillac’s data showed Earls had reached a maximum speed of 122 mph between eight seconds and just over one second before impact, the affidavit said, and was traveling at 107 mph when it crashed.

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Earls told detectives he didn’t have permission to take the Cadillac from the dealership, and the dealership had reported the car stolen to Pembroke Pines Police, according to the affidavit.

Broward court records show Earls faces one count of first-degree grand theft related to taking the car from the dealership. He had checked out the car noting it was for a “wash,” but it was after his shift for the day, according to the probable cause affidavit in that case.

Earls has pleaded not guilty in that separate case, which remains pending as of Tuesday, court records show.

Related to the crash, an arrest warrant was issued on Jan. 30, court records show. Earls faces charges of vehicular homicide, driving without a valid license causing death and multiple counts of reckless driving with property damage or injury. He was booked into the Main Jail on Monday.