A memorial for Ronald Wilson sits on display Thursday, March 26, 2026, at the crash site where Wilson was killed at the intersection of Prospect Road and Northwest 31st Avenue in Tamarac, Fla. Wilson had been making a left turn on Feb. 16 when a BSO deputy, pursuing another driver, crashed into Wilson’s pickup truck.
Alie Skowronski
askowronski@miamiherald.com
Six days before Ronald Wilbert Wilson’s 74th birthday, a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy lost control of his SUV during a high-speed chase and slammed into Wilson’s pickup truck. He would be dead within the hour.
Wilson was making a left turn in his silver Toyota Tacoma at a Tamarac intersection and had the right of way. The deputy, who was chasing the driver of a stolen Jeep Cherokee, used what’s known as a PIT maneuver to try to force the Jeep off the road. But he lost control of his sheriff’s office vehicle and crashed into the side of Wilson’s truck, according to a Broward County Medical Examiner’s report released to the Miami Herald.
Wilson was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where he died at 12:57 a.m. on Feb. 17, about an hour after the Feb. 16 crash at Northwest 31st Avenue and Prospect Road.
If there had been even a 30-second delay, Wilson might be alive, Pastor Ronald Blackwood told Wilson’s family and friends last Saturday at his funeral service at the Star of David Funeral Chapel in North Lauderdale.
“There are more questions here than answers today,” Blackwood said.
Jamaica born
About a hundred people gathered to lay Wilson to rest, singing, crying and laughing while remembering his kind heart, his hard work and his famous barbecue ribs and chicken wings.
“And he was generous with his portions,” like he was generous in all facets of life, said Nicole Miller, a relative, during her eulogy.
Wilson, who was born in Jamaica and lived in North Lauderdale, was a religious man who put effort into his relationships and was willing to right his wrongs, said those attending the service.
He left Jamaica and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he met his wife, Kathryn. Eventually, they made their way to South Florida, its climate more akin to Jamaica than the city on Lake Erie in northern Ohio.
For 26 years, Wilson worked in his own carpet-cleaning business, available to customers 24/7. He never lost a client.
In his free time, he loved working in his yard and growing yams, a staple of Jamaican cuisine. He particularly liked sharing the fruits and vegetables from his garden with his friends and neighbors.
When he wasn’t working or tending to his garden, he played dominoes and dedicated time to his five children, Laverne Wilson, Rohan Wilson, Claudia Wilson, Megan Wilson and Ebony Seay or his grandchildren.
“Let’s remember Ronald not for the way he died, but for the beautiful life and love he gave so generously,” the funeral program said.
READ MORE: Innocent victim of police chase had pulled over to get out of the way, records show
Crashed through Flanagan’s gate
The series of events that resulted in Wilson’s sudden death began around 11:44 p.m on Feb. 16 when Margate Police alerted law-enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for a stolen gray Jeep Cherokee, according to an arrest report.
A BSO deputy spotted the Jeep and followed it to a Flanagan’s restaurant. A BSO helicopter was en route to Flanagan’s, but the Jeep driver sped up and crashed through a closed gate in the back parking lot of the popular restaurant before the helicopter arrived. The impact caused pieces of the gate to become lodged into the Jeep’s hood.
The driver flew out of the lot and barreled up North State Road 7, the driver’s arrest report said. BSO deputy Robert Acosta, one of a slew of responding deputies, approached the driver from behind in his Dodge Charger.
The Jeep driver slammed on the breaks and reversed, crashing into the front of Acosta’s patrol car and sped off, leaving the gate pieces on the road.
This constituted felony aggravated battery on Acosta, BSO said, triggering the pursuit by dozens of BSO deputies. BSO policy says the first rule for initiating a pursuit is that someone has to commit a “forcible felony,” that is, “a person using or threatening physical violence against someone else, for example, murder, carjacking, aggravated assault and battery.”
Deputy Brian Quintal eyed the Jeep on Prospect Road heading toward Northwest 31st Avenue and attempted the PIT maneuver, or Precision Immobilization Technique, a controversial policing tactic often used in pursuits but which can lead to fatal consequences.
In the maneuver, a deputy or officer or trooper uses the front of his or her patrol car to push the rear corner of a fleeing car or truck, forcing it into a spin and allowing the officer to block the car and bring it to a stop.
Quintal attempted this maneuver, but it didn’t work. He momentarily lost control of his cruiser and crashed into the driver’s side of Wilson’s pickup as Wilson was making a left turn in the intersection.
The driver of the stolen Jeep, who was later identified as Sean Paul Holder, was arrested after deputies conducted a second PIT maneuver, causing him to lose control of the Jeep. Holder is facing a slew of charges, including felony murder, a first-degree murder charge when a killing occurs during the commission of a dangerous felony, regardless of whether the killing was intentional or accidental.
Sean Holder, 30 BSO
His attorney, Maury Halperin, declined to comment for this article.
Second death stemming from pursuit
Wilson’s death was the first of two deaths within a 10-day span in Broward involving a stolen car, a police pursuit and a PIT maneuver.
Bonnie Bouffard, 74, of Davie, had pulled over to the shoulder of Florida’s Turnpike during rush-hour traffic on Feb. 26 while BSO deputies, Coconut Creek police and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper were pursuing a woman accused of stealing a pickup truck.
FHP trooper Bernard Major, 33, rammed the stolen 2022 Ford F-250 with a PIT maneuver, causing the truck to strike a concrete wall before slamming into Bouffard’s 2024 Nissan Altima, records in the case show. Within minutes, Bouffard was dead.
Roy Taylor, a national police procedure expert, said the trainings he’s seen recommend officers use a PIT maneuver when they’re going a maximum speed of 35 or 45 mph. Anything faster could be considered deadly force — the target vehicle essentially becomes an “unguided missile,” he said.
About 21 seconds before Quintal attempted the PIT maneuver and crashed into Wilson’s pickup truck, Holder, the driver of the stolen Jeep, was going 60 mph. It’s unclear how fast Quintal was driving. The Herald has a pending records request with the Broward Sheriff’s Office for the crash report.
Previous crash by deputy
It’s not the first time Quintal crashed while on duty, according to his BSO Internal Affairs file. He had a sustained allegation of being involved in a preventable accident in March 2023 and was recommended for counseling and a driver-awareness program, BSO records show.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office told the Herald the circumstances surrounding the Feb. 16 incident are being investigated and will be sent to its Pursuit Review Board, which reviews all vehicle pursuits. Quintal, who was transported to Broward Health Medical Center with injuries along with Wilson, was placed on workers’ comp leave.
A BSO spokesperson said Quintal has since returned to regular duty but didn’t answer questions about his 2023 crash. Dan Rakofsky, president of BSO’s union, IUPA Local 6020, did not respond to two requests from the Herald for an interview about the Feb. 16 crash.
Taylor, the policing expert, said a PIT maneuver is a strong tool, but should be used sparingly. An officer using a PIT maneuver every time a person flees would be the equivalent of an officer pulling out their gun every time someone shoplifts, he said.
Officers will sometimes use a felony that occurs during a traffic stop or enforcement interaction as cause to initiate a chase and utilize a PIT maneuver, but if the underlying reason for the interaction wasn’t a violent felony, the move likely shouldn’t be used, Taylor said.
Only two times when pursuits should be initiated: report
The Department of Justice commissioned the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based nonprofit that recommends guidelines to law-enforcement agencies, to come up with recommendations for when police pursuits should take place, given their deadly risks.
In 2023, the Forum published a detailed report and found only two standards when law enforcement should initiate a pursuit: “(1) A violent crime has been committed and (2) the suspect poses an imminent threat to commit another violent crime.
“If these two conditions are not met, agencies need to look for alternatives to accomplish this same objective. You can get a suspect another day, but you can’t get a life back,” wrote Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum.
A memorial for Ronald Wilson sits on display Thursday, March 26, 2026, at the crash site where Wilson was killed at the intersection of Prospect Road and Northwest 31st Avenue in Tamarac, Fla. Wilson had been making a left turn on Feb. 16 when a BSO deputy, pursuing another driver, crashed into Wilson’s pickup truck. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
Wilson’s wife, Kathryn, declined to be interviewed but referred a Herald reporter to her attorney. The high-profile civil rights firm, Ben Crump Law, is representing Wilson and working to get information for the family about what happened, attorney Sue-Ann Robinson said.
“For example, the medical examiner released a death certificate with no cause of death, why?” Robinson said. “Witnesses have reported clearly that Mr. Wilson suffered fatal injuries in a car crash. We will be pursuing full justice for Mr. Wilson’s widow, children and grandchildren.”
The Broward Sheriff’s Office has not responded to the family or contacted Wilson’s wife other than to give her a case card when they told her that her husband died, Robinson said.
“We cannot permit these incidents to be swept under the rug,” Robinson said. “With inadequate pursuit policies, officers are engaging in chases that pose an unacceptable risk of death to innocent bystanders. There has to be reform to save lives.”
Taylor, the policing expert, said the nature of a person’s crime and the danger they pose should be a factor when deciding whether to use a PIT maneuver, considering its potential for deaths. The real goal of policing is to protect human life, he noted.
“What is a stolen car?” Taylor said. “It’s a piece of property, right? Is a piece of property worth somebody’s life?”
Miami Herald staff reporters Brittany Wallman, David Goodhue, Milena Malaver and Devoun Cetoute contributed to this report.
A memorial for Ronald Wilson sits on display Thursday, March 26, 2026, at the crash site where Wilson was killed at the intersection of Prospect Road and Northwest 31st Avenue in Tamarac, Fla. Wilson had been making a left turn on Feb. 16 when a BSO deputy, pursuing another driver, crashed into Wilson’s pickup truck. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
