MARTIN COUNTY — Martin County Sheriff’s officials are expected May 26 to identify a man who crashed and died days earlier after investigators said he drove the wrong way on U.S. 1 from Riviera Beach north to southern Martin County – about 16 miles.
The May 24 crash in Hobe Sound in the area of Jonathan Dickinson State Park happened after investigators said the 43-year-old West Palm Beach man tried to run over a Jupiter police officer and was involved in a number of collisions, according to Sheriff John Budensiek and the Florida Highway Patrol.
In Martin County, the accused wrong-way driver ultimately crashed with two southbound vehicles, a 2020 Land Rover sport utility vehicle driven by a 63-year-old Jupiter woman, and a 2017 BMW sport utility vehicle driven by a 39-year-old woman, with children ages 6 and 3 as passengers. The BMW occupants all are from Georgia.
The incident began as a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle traveled south on U.S. 1 in Riviera Beach, and agents saw a Ford Escape sport utility vehicle traveling north in the southbound lanes, according to the FHP.
The Border Patrol vehicle made U-turn and tried to stop the Ford, though it continued north in the southbound lanes “at a high rate of speed.”
The agents pursued the Ford from the northbound side, and notified other law enforcement agencies.
Budensiek has said police in Jupiter were involved from the southern end of their jurisdiction to the crash scene in Martin County.
At one point, he said, Jupiter Police deployed tire deflation devices, which deflated one tire of the wrong-way driver.
“The suspect tried to run one of their officers over and then continued northbound until he entered Martin County and eventually struck two of our innocent civilians that were driving southbound, struck them head on,” Budensiek said.
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Sheriff identifies man dead in wrong-way crash in Florida
Reporting by Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
