Boynton Beach man arrested in January vehicular killing of two Boca Raton residents
BOCA RATON — A Boynton Beach-area man is facing vehicular homicide charges in the deaths of two people in January after investigators say he lost control of his speeding truck on Glades Road, jumped the median and crashed into their SUV.
The Palm Beach County Sherriff’s Office on Wednesday arrested Alexander Spandau in the Jan. 24 wreck that killed Daniel and Elizabeth Polo near Florida’s Turnpike in suburban Boca Raton.
A dashboard camera in a witness’ car indicated Spandau had been driving at 70 mph a second before the wreck, investigators said in his arrest report. He also hit a road sign with enough force to knock it off its base and send it flying 175 feet.
During a hearing Thursday at the Palm Beach County Jail, Circuit Judge Donald Hafele set Spandau’s bail at $150,000 and assigned him a public defender. As a policy, the county Public Defender’s Office does not comment on open cases.
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Spandau, now 30, cannot leave his home if he posts bail except to go to court, meet with his attorney or attend a medical appointment, court records show.
The day of the crash, Spandau was traveling west on Glades Road at a high speed in a 2018 Ram 1500 pickup truck, PBSO said in its report. As he neared the entrance to the turnpike, he began to drift into the road’s left lanes.
The truck then mounted the median and hit the Florida Department of Transportation sign that went flying 175 feet.
After this, Spandau continued heading west and crossed into oncoming eastbound traffic through the intersection, which is where Daniel Polo, 36, was driving a 2015 Nissan Rogue in the first lane.
The cars struck bumper to bumper at such force that Spandau’s truck rotated about 90 degrees counterclockwise before coming to a stop and Polo’s Nissan moved 57 feet backward, according to the report.
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Palm Beach County Fire Rescue paramedics declared Elizabeth Polo, 66, dead at the scene. They took Daniel Polo to Delray Medical Center, where he died at about 4 p.m. as a result of his injuries.
The Polos shared an address in suburban Boca Raton, but the arrest report does not say how they were related.
Doctors also intubated Spandau after the wreck, in which he broke both his ankles and his left wrist, dislocated his left shoulder and suffered severe trauma to his left arm, the arrest report said.
Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com. Help support our work. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boynton man arrested after killing two Boca Raton residents in car crash
