Update: There are several comments at bottom from a “Kip Reed”. We have determined that this is a “troll” or fake person. There are a few other comments from another troll, with names K.Gero, Troll Much, and “Your new best friend”. Those comments should be ignored
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office has identified the driver who was killed yesterday on Glades Road near the Boca West entrance. Matt Hale, age 21, was a resident of Boca Raton and was originally from Virginia. His mother Velma Hale-Brown (pictured with Matt below) lives in Boca Raton and works in Broward County. The best address we have for her is in San Marco at Broken Sound near Military Trail and Yamato.
The PBSO investigation reports:
[Hale] was traveling westbound on Glades Road, west of Jog Road, at a high rate of speed. The driver lost control of his vehicle; thus, the vehicle exited the westbound travel lanes and overturned upon entering the northern shoulder. As the vehicle overturned, on the shoulder, it impacted into a tree. The driver was pronounced deceased on-scene by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue personnel.
One of our readers witnessed the accident. As he put it:
He was driving too fast and moving in and out of his lane. … When he caught up to the car in front of him he swerved very fast around that car. … He lost control, bounced on the median a couple of times and literally flew back across 3 lanes through some 10 foot tall hedges and slammed roof first into a big tree. Fortunately he did not hit any other cars and he was alone in the SUV. He was killed instantly.
The big miracle was that he bounced right instead of left. He would have ended up in the oncoming traffic in the eastbound lanes and a head-on collision.
The report indicates Mr. Hale was in a Ford F-150, which is a pickup rather than an SUV. We heard both from witnesses. It’s possible it had a cap on the bed, which might explain that confusion.
The report is very brief so not all details are clear. There is a check box for Seatbelt and it is not checked, suggesting Mr. Hale was not wearing one. Also, contrary to what some suggested, the box for Alcohol/Drugs is also not checked so it appears he was not impaired. There is no mention in the report of texting or other distracted driving.
