Local News and Real Estate for West Boca Raton
A reader sent us these photos of a dog she found on Glades Road near 441. Please post a comment if you recognize the dog or otherwise can help find the owner.
Jessica writes:
Took this dog to the vet but the microchip is not registered please find his owner by sharing this picture. Tomorrow morning I will be taking him to Boca Rio Tri-County Humane Society.
A reader reported to us that there was an accident at Glades and 441 this morning. In the photo above you can see a car being loaded onto a truck.
The shot below gives a bit broader picture of the accident scene.
Last month we reported on an accident where three pedestrians were hit by a car on 441, northbound near West Boca Medical center.
We’ve been trying to follow up on this case but PBSO was not helpful initially. Over a month later we finally got a few records. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to give us a lead so we could find out more.
For starters we’ve learned the names of the individuals involved in the accident. One of the pedestrians hit was Victor Carneiro Brito, who is 18 years old and reportedly lives in the Boca Entrada apartments. The other two pedestrians, both male, are under 18 so we are not including their names in this story. One is a student in one of the middle schools in West Boca.
We’ve also learned that the alleged driver is Brett Knowles (30), of Boca Isles. Mr. Knowles appears to be a 2002 graduate of Olympic Heights High School, and he may work as a barber.
Mr. Knowles has a substantial history in the Palm Beach County courts. This is not a typo – he has 41 cases in the system. Some of them are multiple charges from one incident, but that’s still a lot.
Here’s a mugshot from a 2013 arrest for driving with a suspended license:
The court record indicates he got 4 days in jail for that one. He had a similar incident in 2012 and got 10 days in jail, which may have been longer because he failed to show up for a court date. Oddly the 2013 incident was charged as a first offense even though it obviously was at least the second offense.
Mr. Knowles faced felony drug charges in 2008 and 2010. On the 2008 case he was sentenced to 10 days in jail and on the 2010 cases (2 incidents) he got 6 months.
Update: It occurred to us we should check Broward. Mr. Knowles had an incident there in August of 2013. It was a combination of drug possession, a traffic ticket, and criminal driving with a suspended license.
In addition to those he’s had a few misdemeanors and numerous traffic tickets. He also demonstrated questionable judgment by posting this on his Facebook page:
We spoke with a family member of one of the pedestrians. PBSO informed the family that Mr. Knowles was driving with a suspended license, that police were tipped as to the license plate and met him at his home, where he admitted being the driver.
Here’s where it gets interesting: From the court records database, no charges have been filed against Mr. Knowles yet, not even a traffic ticket. A deputy told the family that Mr. Knowles would be in jail within a few days. It’s been over five weeks and he is still free with no charges pending from the incident.
Update – PBSO’s Theresa Barbera responded:
This investigation is still active and ongoing. Once completed the state attorneys office will review. These types of investigations take days, weeks and sometimes months.
We tried to reach Mr. Knowles but he hung up on us. To be fair, that’s probably a good decision on his part.
All three pedestrians were hurt, ranging from head injuries and broken bones to one undergoing surgery. Both to protect their privacy and because we don’t have enough information, we won’t go into more detail on the extent of the injuries.
No one likes to think too much about the possibility of being involved in a car accident, but it is important to remember that if you are caught up in a collision that you suspect was not your fault, you might want to consider filing a lawsuit.
Filing a personal injury lawsuit can be an expensive process, but there are a variety of methods to help you cover the financial costs.
Nova Legal Funding provides lawsuit loans that can help you to get a personal injury lawsuit off the ground. For more information go to fundmylawsuitnow.com.
We still hope to get more information on this case. If any of our readers can provide us with more or put us in touch with anyone involved, please let us know. We can be reached at [email protected].
Readers contacted us about an incident on Palmetto Park Road just east of 441. A reader at the Walmart saw roughly seven Sheriff cars on the north side of Palmetto near Lowe’s and Walgreen’s.
After that the cars moved first into the parking area of those stores, and later even more PBSO vehicles were seen by other readers at the West Boca Medical Center emergency room.
We contacted PBSO information officer Teri Barbera. She’s not in the office but told us what little she knows at this time:
Deputies were chasing a suspect in a case involving theft. The chase led into an area with bees and deputies were stung. They are being treated at the medical center. Ms. Barbera did not know if the thief was caught when we spoke.
A reader updated us on what she saw:
I personally was there at the scene during almost the entire time. I was on the North side of Walgreens near the wooded area. The young guy who ran from Police to get away and hide stayed down in the murky area with water until the Canine finally arrived.
I only heard one Officer’s request to him to come out before the dog arrived as he would be bitten. All the Officers were standing watching the area where he went in. Nothing was said to try and get him out peacefully before the dog arrived on scene. Must have been 25 minutes before dog arrived. Since I was on the back side, I heard the dog go in and get the guy. I was heading out just after I heard the dog on the South side, making my way around and back to the scene. When I approached, the white guy was laying on the ground with no shirt and handcuffed behind his back. I did see blood on his arm.
Then I heard and noticed all the yelling and jumping…OMG…they were all being stung by bees! I felt so sorry for them all. I looked in my car for anything to help with the swarm of bees, but I had nothing to assist with. They quickly put the guy in the Police car and drove off. Many Officers were clearly visibly shaken with all the bees and stings. I felt so bad for them all.
We at West Boca News send our best wishes to the deputies and hope for their quick recovery.
A reader reports another accident today on 441 in front of Sandalfoot Square. It appears to be involve two-cars. From the damage we see in the photos it may have been a head-on or frontal-offset collision.
Update from a reader:
I was actually there. Someone cut a woman off she slammed on her brakes I then slammed on my brakes and so on and some guy hit a car behind me and left the scene. The grey car there had to pull to the side to get out of the road. The cars behind him were totaled and leaking gas.