Hit-and-run death investigation leads to arrest of Boynton Beach man
DELRAY BEACH — A 19-year-old Boynton Beach man is facing charges related to a fatal hit-and-run crash involving an older man in Delray Beach last November.
Police last week arrested Trajan Johnson on one count apiece of leaving the scene of an accident causing death and tampering with evidence. Delray Beach police said Johnson struck and killed 71-year-old Romeo Della Valle on the 1300 block of Southwest 10th Avenue on Nov. 11, 2023, then fled from the scene of the crash
Following a months-long investigation, officers booked Johnson into the Palm Beach County Jail on Wednesday, May 8, after his transfer from out-of-state custody, court records show.
During a court hearing on Friday, May 10, County Judge Ted Booras set Johnson's bail at $100,000 and ordered that he be placed on in-house arrest upon his release. Johnson remained in custody as of Monday, May 13, according to jail records. An attorney who represented him in court could not immediately be reached for comment.
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On the night of the fatal crash, a witness told investigators he observed Della Valle walking south along the west sidewalk on Southwest 10th Avenue, about a quarter-mile north of Linton Boulevard. Moments later he saw a vehicle on Southwest 10th Avenue speeding in the same direction.
The witness said the vehicle struck something and immediately after turned off its lights and continued south on Southwest 10th before turning west onto Linton. The witness walked over to the crash location and observed Della Valle lying motionless on the sidewalk, the arrest report said.
Investigators determined from debris and parts left at the scene that the vehicle involved was a maroon Chevrolet Malibu built between 2013 and 2016.
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A check of area surveillance cameras and license-plate readers showed a 2016 maroon Chevrolet traveling south on Southwest 12th Avenue from Atlantic Avenue in the minutes before the hit-and-run crash, the arrest report said.
Surveillance video showed the same vehicle passing through the area later that night, this time with damage consistent with a crash, police said. Investigators located the address for the registered owner and found the vehicle parked in the driveway of a home in Boynton Beach.
According to the arrest report, Johnson and a passenger stopped to purchase a set of windshield wiper blades to replace one blade that was broken during the crash.
Investigators determined that Johnson had been driving the vehicle that night and that it belonged to an older relative. DNA from swabs collected from the steering wheel showed that Johnson was the most likely match, the report said.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@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: Man, 19, faces charges in 2023 Delray Beach hit-and-run death
