rollover – West Boca News

Fatal Accident Driver Identified: Matt Hale

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.

Rollover Accident at Yamato & 441: Photos

Update: We checked the court files and we do not see a case that fits this incident yet. PBSO’s Media Relations does not see it in their system yet either.

Several readers sent us photos from last night of a rollover accident at Yamato and 441. We don’t know what caused the car to rollover – and we may never know. There were no reported injuries coming from this accident.

The Sheriff reported a DUI incident at that location last night:

The accident happened right at the intersection in full view of The Lakes at Boca Raton and the CVS.

Other readers reported a heavy police presence including “under cover,” though we think that refers to detectives in plain clothes. There was also police activity from an incident in The Oaks to the north, which we will cover in our next story.
One of the readers also sent us a video of the scene:

Here are a few more reader photos of this accident:

Rollover Accident on Glades: Photos and Eyewitness Account

For most web browsers, clicking on any photo in this article will bring up a larger image.

Around 2:30 pm today we were notified of an accident on Glades Road at Ponderosa, and we headed over. We spoke to an eyewitness, Andrew Setzer of Margate. He reported that the white commercial vehicle was headed northbound on Ponderosa, crossing Glades. There were two vehicles headed westbound. The one in the left lane saw the white vehicle and slowed to avoid it. It appeared that the woman driving the black car did not see it, as perhaps her view was blocked by the vehicle to her left.

The black car “T-boned” into the white commercial vehicle, causing it to roll onto its side. As Mr. Setzer saw it, the white vehicle failed to yield right of way and the black car was not traveling at an excessive speed. Accidents like this can happen out of nowhere, and it can cause not only physical, and emotional harm but financial harm as well. If you find yourself in a car accident, although it might not be what you think of first, you might want to look into getting in touch with someone like Joye Law Firm as they might be able to help you ease the harm an accident can cause.
The intersection of Glades and Ponderosa is about 1.5 miles west of 441:

In the photo below you can see the dent in the side of the white commercial vehicle on its right (top) side.

The black car sustained extensive damage as can be seen in the photos below:

The woman driving the black car was taken by an ambulance soon after we arrived. You can see her on a stretcher in the photo below:

The driver of the white vehicle, marked with “Universal Blinds & Shutters, Inc.,” was also taken by ambulance later on. Here he is on a stretcher. Please note that with both we made an effort not to show their faces in this article.

We are happy to report that neither of the drivers appeared to be critically injured. Both appeared to be conscious and communicating with Fire Rescue workers. In accidents such as the ones in this post it could have ended a lot differently, thankfully it didn’t here. There are many who hesitate when it comes to getting compensation for their accident, unsure what to do next. However it could be helpful for their recovery, helping with hospital bills and providing other types of financial help to those who have been affect by an a car accident. It is important to look into whether or not you can claim on an accident since since there is a time limit on when you can claim. If you would like to find out more information, you might want to read up on the icbc claim time limit as well as other information that might be helpful for your case.
The Fire Rescue crew was active on the scene. We saw them taking care of some kind of fluid spill in the roadway:

As usual you can click on any photos in this article to see a larger version.