Roads-Traffic – Page 17 – West Boca News

Victim Identified in 441 Crash: Abby Bard

PBSO has identified the individuals involved in last night’s crash on US-441 south of Yamato Road. Abby Bard (63) was driving a Volkswagen Jetta, traveling northbound in the southbound lanes not far from her home in Boca Chase. She was pronounced dead at the scene by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

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Bard had a history of volunteering at the Tri-County Animal Rescue, as can be seen in the photo below from 2011.

On the dark side, Ms. Bard did have a 2012 arrest for DUI causing injury and served a term of probation as a result of that incident. The report from PBSO does not address toxicology so we can’t know yet if alcohol was a factor in this incident.
The other driver, Daniel Mixa (28, Lake Worth) was seriously injured and taken to Delray Medical Center.

Investigator Klepping of the Vehicle Homicide Unit described the accident as follows in his initial report:

… V1 [Bard] was traveling northbound in the second to the inside travel lane of southbound [441]. V2 [Mixa] was traveling southbound in the second to the inside travel lane … behind another vehicle. The vehicle in front of [Mixa] abruptly veered to the inside lane. [Mixa] was directly in the path of [Bard]. The front of V1 made contact with the front of V2 in a violent head-on collision. Both vehicles came to an immediate stop, rising off the ground and ultimately coming to rest at the point of collision. The operator of V1 was pronounced deceased on the scene by palm Beach County Fire Rescue. D2 was ultimately transported to Delray Medical Center in serious condition.
***** Next of Kin HAS been notified *****

Put another way, it appears that Mixa was behind another vehicle. That vehicle saw Bard coming and swerved to avoid her. Mixa had little or no time to react, and couldn’t see her coming earlier because the vehicle in front of him obscured his view.
Since publishing our story a family member of Bard contacted us and told us that they were not notified of the incident before the PBSO release.
Update from a reader:

I wanted to give you an update regarding your news story on the crash on 441 and New England. I was there and witnessed the entire accident. The gold car was speeding into the oncoming traffic dodging a few cars before he smacked into the young boy’s blue car head on. It was the person in the gold car that was dead on the scene. A cop was on the scene seconds after the crash occurred.

Regardless of the cause of the incident, Ms. Bard’s passing is a loss to her family and friends.

Head-On Crash on 441 – Photos

Update: We have just learned that one of the drivers was dead on the scene: Victim Identified.

***WEST BOCA*** Car Accident — New England Blvd @ State Rd 7/US 441 — E54 onscene of a veh collision w/ heavy damage, Command advising 1 confirmed Signal-7 (DOA) at scene & 1 other patient being treated by Rescue — Tac 4A

Shortly before 10 pm this evening we learned that there had been an accident on 441 near New England Blvd. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue notified followers on Twitter of the incident:

We arrived on scene about 10 minutes later. The accident was on the southbound side of 441, just north of New England and the Boca Greens plaza. A reader tells us he drove past at 9:10 pm and there was a young body on the ground.

Deputies had blocked off 441 southbound at Yamato. As far as we know it’s still blocked as of this writing. PBSO cruisers were still arriving when we left.

We were able to get some photos of the accident scene itself. From a bit further away, looking from south and north:

And some closer shots:

It appeared to this reporter that the vehicle occupants had already been taken to hospitals. No ambulances were at the scene and no one was in the cars. No one other than deputies were nearby.
The vehicle on the right appeared to be a Volkswagen Golf or GTI, facing southbound in the southbound left-hand lane. The vehicle on the left in our photos appears to be a Volkswagen Jetta and was facing northbound in that same lane on the southbound side, suggesting that driver was traveling in the wrong direction. However, accident scenes can be hard to read.
It may not show up on photos but it appeared to this reporter that the vehicles’ cabins remained intact.
Deputy Frey from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) came over to inquire and politely declined to answer any questions. He’s on the left in the picture below, with New England Blvd. in the background at far left.

Thanks to the Palm Beach County Alerts Facebook page for the update.

Car Flipped: 441 by Mission Bay

Two readers sent us photos of a car flipped on its side in the median of 441 near Mission Bay Plaza just north of Glades road. We are seeing significant traffic delays for cars going southbound on 441 on Google’s traffic map.

The red indicates traffic very slow or stopped. A member of our team was driving south on 441 a few minutes ago but turned at Yamato and did not notice any problems. Diverting via Yamato may be wise if possible.
And here’s a few more pics:

Accident at Lyons & Yamato: 4 pm?

A reader sent us a couple photos of an accident at the intersection of Yamato and Lyons. You can see the Whisper Walk sign in the background of the above photo. Deputies and a tow truck were on scene.
— Another reader advises it was at Lyons and Astaire —
For the location, see the map below:

And here’s a photo of the damage to one of the cars:

This was reported to us a little after 4 pm.

Professional Journalism, Dead Bodies and West Boca News

Every once in a while we write an article that touches a nerve and we get angry criticism. Recently it was over the dead body found in Logger’s Run.
One of the criticisms that irritates the most is the accusation that it’s unprofessional to show the body or anything close to it. Of course we’re not professional journalists. We’re still learning and we will make mistakes. This wasn’t a mistake.
Two recent incidents show how major “professional” media handle similar situations. They don’t hesitate to show dead bodies.
The New York Times, which is often perceived as the elite of all news media, showed the video of Kevin Ward being killed by Tony Stewart’s car.

The video shows the collision and Ward’s body laying on the track afterward. We’ve seen this video countless times now on all major media including the network news, ESPN and more.
The other prominent incident was in Ferguson, Missouri. Various media showed the body of Michael Brown laying in the street after he was shot, such as Reason Magazine. The local Fox News affiliate there showed the body covered with a sheet, but with blood clearly visible.

Update: In late 2014 the Associated Press ran the below image of a dead body floating after the Asian Airlines crash:

The Robin Williams suicide was also covered in great depth, with major media (including the LA Times) reporting how he did it. There have been other suicides over the past several months that we were notified of but did not report. We chose to report the one in Logger’s Run because it closed a road. The public had a right to know what caused the road closure.
While we disagree with the complaints, we did take the criticism seriously. The discussion led us to research the issue and in particular we carefully read guidelines for reporting on suicide from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
We will continue to use our own judgment in deciding what stories to report and what pictures and/or video to use. If we think there’s a concern, we will include a warning. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. We certainly welcome polite and constructive criticism. But stop telling us it’s unprofessional. If it tells the story more effectively, we will use it. That’s what professional news media do.