Fatal crash near Palm Beach State's Lake Worth campus has woman, 21, facing multiple charges
LAKE WORTH BEACH — A 21-year-old Broward County woman is facing multiple charges related to a September fatal crash near Palm Beach State University in suburban Lake Worth Beach.
Jamie Padgett of North Lauderdale was taken into custody Wednesday on one count each of DUI manslaughter, DUI causing serious bodily injury, vehicular homicide and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury. She also faces a charge of possessing a fraudulent driver's license.
The Sept. 26 collision killed a 41-year-old man who was driving the Ford. Investigators did not disclose his name, citing a 2018 state constitutional amendment that allows crime victims or their families to request that that their names be shielded from public disclosure.
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During a hearing Thursday at the Palm Beach County Jail, Circuit Court Judge Kirk Volker set Padgett's bail at $115,000 and ordered that she be placed on in-house arrest with an ankle monitor upon her release.
Volker also ordered that Padgett have no contact the victim's family, and that she refrain from drinking alcohol.
Padgett remained in custody at the Palm Beach County Jail as of Friday morning. A message left for an attorney listed as her representative was not immediately returned.
According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest report, Padgett was involved in a two-vehicle crash that occurred shortly before 11 p.m. on the 2700 block of Sixth Avenue South, toward the north end of John Prince Park.
Investigators say she drove her 2021 Audi east in a westbound lane, causing a head-on collision with a 2007 Ford Focus.
An inspection of the crash scene indicated that Padgett was speeding in a 35 mph zone, the report said. The Audi's event data recorder reportedly showed that the vehicle was accelerating to 71 mph at the time of the collision.
An investigator at the scene described Padgett as lethargic and said she had slowed speech and difficulty staying awake.
Separate blood draws conducted hours apart showed that Padgett's blood-alcohol levels would have affected her ability to operate a motor vehicle safely, the report said.
A blood draw taken a little more than a hour after the crash showed that she had a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.093 the report said. A second draw taken about three-and-a-half hours later occurred reportedly showed a blood alcohol concentration levels of 0.046 and 0.045
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Woman facing charges after crash near PBSC campus kills man, 41
