A 14-year Palm Springs boy has died, three days after a van hit him as he crossed a street in Greenacres, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.
Juan Monge died on Feb. 9 at Delray Beach Medical Center, where paramedics took him after the Feb. 6 crash near John I. Leonard High School.
“I am a mother living every parent’s worst nightmare,” Fany Martinez, who identified herself as Monge’s mother, posted on the website GoFundMe. “In just a moment, my happy, healthy child was taken from us, leaving our family heartbroken and lost.”
No charges are pending against the driver, a 50-year-old Greenacres woman, according to the sheriff’s office crash report.
The fatal crash took place at about 10:25 p.m. after Monge climbed out of an Uber traveling northbound on Jackson near 10th Avenue North, just west of the high school.
The van was southbound on Jackson, an area with no overhead street lighting, according to a sheriff’s crash report. Monge stepped into the path of the van, which was “unable to avoid the collision,” according to the report.
The front of the van struck Monge and threw his body to the west side of Jackson. He sustained a significant head injury and went to Delray Medical in critical condition.
The report did not specify how fast the van was traveling at the time of the crash.
Vigil honors Juan Monge, teen killed in Greenacres crash
The GoFundMe Page set up by Martinez has already raised over $22,000 for Monge’s family. Martinez wrote that his death had devastated their family.
“There are no words to describe the pain of losing a child,” Martinez wrote. “Seeing my son in the hospital, surrounded by machines, holding his hand, praying, and hoping for a miracle is something I will carry in my heart forever. We begged God for more time, for one more chance — but life had other plans.”
Monge’s family and friends held a vigil on Feb. 10 at the crash site on Jackson, where they placed a white cross with a photo of the 14-year-old, according to videos posted on social media.
Teenagers took turns to adorn Monge’s image with candles, white flowers, a basketball and a blue teddy bear in front of Monge’s photo.
A group of teens can be seen surrounding the site with sparklers while two of them perform a burnout, revving a bike engine and holding its rear wheel against the ground until it begins smoking.
A man who identified himself on social media as Monge’s cousin thanked those who attended the vigil on a Feb 10 Instagram post.
“It brings us comfort to know that Juan had so many friends,” his post wrote. “Your presence and support means more to our family than words can express during this difficult time.
Valentina Palm covers immigration and western Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 14-year-old Palm Springs boy dies after Greenacres van crash
Reporting by Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
