Alcohol and excessive speed may have been contributing factors in a fatal crash that occurred on Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach Friday night, according to police.
Paul Monroe Booker, 68, of Orange City, died of injuries he suffered in the crash, which occurred at 9 p.m. at the intersection of Granada and Vining Court. The crash is still under investigation, according to Ormond Beach police.
According to police, Booker was in a Toyota RAV4 and was turning left from Vining Court onto Granada when a 2012 Ford Mustang convertible, driven by Francisco Guzman-Rivera, 22, of Ormond Beach, hit him.
Guzman-Rivera is suspected of speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Ormond Beach police spokeswoman Pauline Dulang. She did not say how drunk the man was or how fast he was going. She also said it wasn’t certain who was at fault.
Both Guzman-Rivera and Booker were transported as trauma alerts to the hospital, where Booker later died, according to police.
Ormond Beach police Chief Jesse Godfrey, who extended condolences to Booker’s family, called the incident a “senseless and preventable tragedy.”
“With rideshare services and designated drivers so readily available, there is never a reason to get behind the wheel after drinking,” Godfrey said. “Making that choice could save lives and prevent families from experiencing this kind of loss.”
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Officer Rick Taylor at 386- 677-0731 or at rick.taylor@ormondbeach.org.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ormond Police: Alcohol use and excessive speed suspected in fatal crash Friday night
Reporting by Patricio G. Balona, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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