His blood-alcohol level was so high he nearly was poisoned. Then he crashed, killing two.

Julius Whigham II, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·2 min read
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WEST PALM BEACH — A judge last week sentenced a Boca Raton man to 12 years in prison after the man pleaded guilty to DUI charges stemming from a 2023 crash that killed an older couple from New York.

Jamie Gomez Escobedo, 36, pleaded to two counts of DUI manslaughter and one count of DUI causing serious bodily injury during a hearing on Tuesday, April 16, at the Palm Beach County Courthouse.

Toxicology tests showed that on the morning of Feb. 1, 2023, Escobedo had a blood-alcohol level of nearly 0.3, about four times the level of .08 at which it is illegal to drive in Florida, a PBSO report said. A 0.3 blood-alcohol reading is at the minimal level of likely alcohol poisoning.

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Crash at suburban Boca Raton red light sent car rolling over

Investigators said Escobedo ran a red light at State Road 7 and Kimberly Road in suburban Boca Raton and crashed his 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee into a 2021 Nissan Rogue, killing the driver, Arie Oberlender, 82, and a passenger, Golda Oberlender, 79, both of North Woodmere, New York, a hamlet on Long Island.

A second passenger, a Boca Raton woman, sustained serious injuries.

Investigators said Escobedo was driving south on State Road 7 at about 10:30 a.m. while the Nissan was crossing the intersection under a green light.

The wreck sent the Nissan rolling over before coming to a stop, upside down, on the southwest corner of the intersection. The Jeep rotated clockwise before stopping within the southbound lanes, investigators said.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue pronounced both Oberlenders dead at the scene.

Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe sentenced Escobedo to 12 years on each of the manslaughter counts and five years on the count involving bodily injury, ordering that the sentences be served concurrently. The DUI manslaughter offenses carried a mandatory minimum sentence of four years.

Rowe also revoked Escobedo's driver's license for life. She credited him with just over a year of time served — 369 days — in the Palm Beach County Jail.

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Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him atjwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at@JuliusWhigham. Help support our work:Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Boca Raton man sentenced in DUI crash that killed two from New York