A Dreyfoos School of the Arts teacher drove into a car carrying a nine-months-pregnant woman and her two children on Easter Sunday, then fled the scene, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said. According to his arrest report, he told deputies he had “lost it” after learning of a loved one’s suspected affair.
Nathaniel Rayman, 50, is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of a crash, felonies punishable by five years in prison each. He is represented by the Office of the Public Defender which, as a practice, does not comment on open cases.
The crash occurred at Wildcat Way and Okeechobee Boulevard, next to Royal Palm Beach High School, at 3:20 p.m. on April 5. Lentajia Lewis told deputies she had stopped at a traffic light in the right-turn lane on Wildcat when she saw a black Toyota strike a white Toyota RAV4.
The black car came to a brief stop before driving toward Lewis’ Kia “at full speed,” striking it, too, according to the arrest report. Lewis, a stranger to Rayman, was in the car with her 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
Deputies didn’t describe the damage to either the white Toyota or the Kia but said Palm Beach County Fire Rescue drove Lewis to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach on account of her pregnancy. Her children were not injured; their great-grandmother arrived at the scene and collected them both.
After the crash, deputies say Rayman continued on Wildcat Way, where he struck a stop sign, a mailbox and a cable box before returning home. Deputies found the black Toyota with the help of a witness who wrote down its license plate number. It was parked in Rayman’s driveway in Royal Palm Beach.
Rayman told deputies he had been looking for a woman who drives a white Toyota and who he had come to believe had cheated on him.
Rayman’s eyes were red and glassy, his arresting deputy wrote. Rayman said he had drunk about six beers because he was sad about the suspected betrayal.
Arrested Dreyfoos teacher says he ‘lost his mind and his life’
In a recorded interview at Palms West Hospital, Rayman said he “lost it” after learning the name of the man with whom the woman had had the affair.
“He said he lost his mind and his life the previous night,” his arresting officer wrote.
Rayman said he didn’t remember hitting either car and believed he’d only struck a mailbox. He told the deputy he had “never been in such a dark place.”
Rayman was not present at his first court hearing April 6, as he remained hospitalized. Circuit Judge Donald Hafele set his bail at $5,000 per count, with conditions barring alcohol, illegal drugs and nonprescription drugs. He is scheduled to appear next in court on May 5.
Rayman joined Dreyfoos’ theater department in February 2021. In a message to parents in the wake of his arrest, Principal Blake Bennett said he has been placed on administrative leave and is the subject of an internal investigation.
“Please note that these charges are not related to our school or our students,” Bennett wrote. “The School District takes this matter very seriously and expects all employees to adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct.”
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. Reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Arrested Dreyfoos teacher says he ‘lost it’ after learning of affair
Reporting by Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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