Broward teen charged as adult in fatal Boca Raton car crash from June
BOCA RATON — A 17-year-old Broward County resident has been charged as an adult in a single-vehicle crash in Boca Raton that killed one person in June.
The teen, whom The Palm Beach Post is not naming because of his age, is facing one count of vehicular homicide and one of fleeing or attempting to elude in the June 29 death of Goose Benjamin, 23, of Coral Springs.
County Judge Ted J. Booras set the teen's bail at $50,000 during a hearing Monday at the Palm Beach County Jail, where he remained in custody Tuesday morning. Court records indicate the Palm Beach County Public Defender's Office is representing the teen. As a policy, it does not comment on open cases.
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The crash occurred early on the morning of June 29 as the teen, who was 16 years old on the day of the wreck, attempted to flee from Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies who were trying to pull his car over, Boca Raton police said.
The vehicle traveled east on Palmetto Park Road before the teen lost control of itand struck a tree in the median east of the Palmetto Park Square shopping center, a police arrest report said. Benjamin, the teen's passenger, was killed on impact.
The vehicle, a 2015 Mercedes-Benz, was a private rental registered to another person in Pompano Beach, police said. A PBSO deputy told city police that she attempted to pull the vehicle over in the area of 2800 W. Palmetto Park Road, near Military Trail.
The deputy said she briefly reached a speed of 69 mph in a 40 mph zone and ended the pursuit because of the high speed. Surveillance-camera video from a pizzeria showed the teen turned off the car's headlights and taillights, according to the report. Drivers have used that move to try to conceal their locations.
The teen had a learner's permit that prohibited him rom driving after 10 p.m., city police said in the report.
jwhigham@pbpost.com
@JuliusWhigham
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Teen faces vehicular homicide charge in fatal Boca Raton crash in June
