Delray Beach-area driver charged after fatal Florida's Turnpike crash near Boca Raton

BOCA RATON — A Delray Beach-area man had fentanyl and THC in his system on the evening of a 2021 crash near Boca Raton that killed a motorist stranded on Florida's Turnpike, the Florida Highway Patrol said in arresting him last week.

Michael Scott Paul, 42, is facing one count each of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide after he surrendered to investigators Thursday in the March 30, 2021, death of Cristian Danillo Portillo.

Portillo, 44, of Miami, was killed when Paul's 2017 Hyundai Tucson SUV struck him as he stood next to a disabled vehicle on the shoulder of the turnpike's southbound lanes near the Glades Road exit, according to an FHP arrest report.

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Portillo had been driving a 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup occupied by six other men, including one seated in the truck's bed. The Toyota passengers were not injured.

Paul remained in custody late Tuesday in lieu of $100,000 bail. His attorney, Steven Gomberg, said Tuesday that his team was just beginning its investigation.

According to the FHP report, Paul failed to stay in his lane as he drove south at about 6 p.m. that day. Portillo died at the scene. Paul was taken to Delray Medical Center to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. A trooper responded to the hospital and observed that Paul showed "obvious signs of of impairment," the arrest report said.

Paul declined to provide a voluntary blood sample. According to the arrest report, he had glossy eyes and slow speech and dozed off several times while speaking to a trooper. Paul was returned to the scene after he was cleared medically.

Without being asked to do so, he took off his long-sleeve T-Shirt, revealing a puncture wound covered with a dried blood spot. A trooper noted that such wounds are commonly associated with a needle injection site.

FHP investigators obtained a search warrant to collect blood samples from Paul. The samples tested positive for fentanyl and marijuana, the arrest report said.

jwhigham@pbpost.com

@JuliusWhigham

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Delray-area man arrested after fatal Florida's Turnpike crash near Boca