Teen charged as adult in 2021 Wellington crash; PBSO says car topped speeds of 100 mph
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WELLINGTON — A 16-year-old male from suburban West Palm Beach is facing a felony charge after investigators alleged he drove at speeds in excess of 100 mph in a traffic collision that killed an older man last April in Wellington.
The teen, whom The Palm Beach Post is not naming because of his age, was transferred from juvenile custody to the Palm Beach County Jail on Friday after prosecutors decided to try him as an adult for vehicular manslaughter.
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Investigators with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said the teen's car reached speeds of over 111 mph – more than 70 mph over the posted speed limit – the morning of April 8, 2021, before crashing a Mercedes SUV into a Lexus at the intersection of Greenview Shores Boulevard and Chatsworth Village Drive, near Wellington High School.
The collision killed Jerome Goldman, 77, of Wellington, who died at the scene.
A witness told investigators they observed the Mercedes SUV nearly sideswipe another vehicle as it sped north on Greenview Shores. As the SVU approached Chatsworth, Goldman was leaving a nearby neighborhood. The front of the Mercedes struck the driver's side of Goldman's Lexus.
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According to the arrest report, the teen tried to brake, but his speed diminished his ability to evade the crash. Data collected from the Mercedes' airbag control module showed the vehicle traveling at 94 mph when the airbag was deployed, according to the PBSO report.
The teen was flown to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach with injuries to his right leg, according to the report.
An attempt Monday to reach an attorney who represented the teen during his bail hearing Saturday morning was unsuccessful.
jwhigham@pbpost.com
@JuliusWhigham
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: PBSO: Car topped speeds of 100 mph in Wellington crash that killed man, 77
