Authorities said a wrong-way driving call on State Road 836 ended with a trooper stabbed, a woman shot and a child taken into state care.
MIAMI, Fla. — A Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a woman were hospitalized early Sat., March 7, after authorities said the woman stabbed the trooper during a roadside encounter on State Road 836 and the trooper then opened fire.
The confrontation began as troopers answered reports of a reckless driver moving eastbound in the westbound lanes of SR 836 near NW 107th Avenue in Miami-Dade County. By the end of the encounter, investigators said, a young child in the vehicle had been placed with the Department of Children and Families, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had opened a standard review of the trooper’s use of force. The woman also faced booking into the Miami-Dade County Jail once she is medically released.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, calls about the wrong-way driver came in at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday along the Dolphin Expressway corridor. Troopers then found the vehicle in the grassy center median near NW 107th Avenue. Investigators said a trooper approached the vehicle and made contact with the driver, a woman whose name had not been released publicly by late weekend. A young child was inside the vehicle during that contact. FHP said the encounter quickly turned violent. The woman pulled a knife and stabbed the trooper in the head, neck and shoulder, the agency said. The trooper then fired his weapon, striking her. “Both the trooper and the woman were taken to HCA Kendall Trauma for treatment,” the agency said in its public account of the incident.
Authorities have not released the ages of the trooper, the woman or the child, and they have not said how many shots were fired. They also have not described what led the vehicle to stop in the median after the wrong-way reports. What officials have said is that the call began as a traffic safety emergency and then became a violent criminal investigation within minutes. FHP said the woman had active warrants tied to child neglect, child abuse and fleeing and eluding law enforcement. Officials did not say in their initial statements when those warrants were issued or which agency entered them. They also did not provide a condition update beyond saying the trooper and the woman were hospitalized. The child was not reported hurt in the incident, and the Department of Children and Families took custody after the shooting, according to state authorities.
The case carries weight beyond a single roadside stop because it joins several lines of public concern at once: wrong-way driving, officer safety, child welfare and police use of force. State Road 836 is one of South Florida’s busiest expressway routes, and pre-dawn wrong-way driving calls are treated as urgent because of the risk of head-on crashes. In this case, the danger did not end when the vehicle stopped. Investigators say the violence unfolded during the first contact between the trooper and the driver, before any arrest was completed. The presence of a child in the vehicle added another layer for state agencies. It also turned the event from a highway enforcement matter into one involving family services and possible criminal charges that reach beyond the stabbing itself. By late weekend, authorities still had not said whether mental health, impairment or another factor may have played a role.
The next steps are now split between criminal and administrative review. FHP said the woman will be booked into the Miami-Dade County Jail after doctors clear her for release from the hospital. Potential charges connected to the stabbing and the traffic stop had not been publicly listed in court records at the time of the initial reports. Separately, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is handling the standard review of the trooper’s use of force, a common step after officer-involved shootings in Florida. That review will likely examine the scene evidence, the trooper’s injuries, witness statements, dispatch records and any video from body-worn or vehicle cameras, if available. Investigators also are expected to document the sequence from the first wrong-way call to the final gunfire on the shoulder and median area of the expressway. Authorities said the case remains active, limiting what they are willing to release now.
Even with many details still withheld, the broad outline of the morning is clear. A dangerous driving report drew troopers to SR 836 before sunrise. A roadside contact followed. Then, according to FHP, a knife attack left a trooper wounded in the head, neck and shoulder, and gunfire left the woman injured. In the background was a young child who ended the morning in state care rather than with a parent. The public picture remains incomplete, and key questions remain unanswered, including the woman’s identity, the child’s age and the length of the encounter before the stabbing began. For now, the case stands as both a violence investigation and a review of official force.
As of Monday, March 9, both injured adults had been reported taken to HCA Kendall Trauma, the woman was expected to be jailed after medical release, and FDLE’s review of the shooting remained underway. The next public milestone is likely the filing of charges or a new statement from investigators.
Author note: Last updated March 9, 2026.