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A man forced his way into a woman\u2019s car in the parking lot of Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah on Thursday morning, Sept. 24, 2026, and drove off, police say.<\/p>\n
Getty Images\/iStockphoto<\/p>\n
A man forced himself into a woman\u2019s car in the Palmetto General Hospital parking lot Thursday morning after fleeing the facility where he was brought under an involuntary psychiatric hold, Hialeah police say.<\/p>\n
A Miami-Dade sheriff\u2019s deputy had brought the man to the hospital under Florida\u2019s Baker Act, which allows authorities to place people experiencing mental-health emergencies under involuntary psychiatric care for up to 72 hours.<\/p>\n
After the deputy left the hospital, at 2001 West 68th Street, he ran away, said Hialeah police spokesman Lt. Eddie Rodriguez, emphasizing the man did not escape the deputy\u2019s custody.<\/p>\n
When he reached the parking lot, he ran up to a woman getting out of her car and forced himself inside and drove off, Rodriguez said. There were no reported injuries, according to police.<\/p>\n
The Florida Highway Patrol confirmed that a driver whom troopers stopped later in the afternoon near Northwest 79th Street and 17th Avenue using the PIT maneuver \u2014 using the front of their cruisers to disable a car \u2014 was a suspect wanted by Hialeah police.<\/p>\n
Hialeah police did not immediately respond when asked if the driver was the man who stole the car from the hospital.<\/p>\n
This story will be updated.<\/p>\n
This story was originally published September 24, 2026 at 1:02 PM.<\/p>\n
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