Update: The charges against Ms. Fichtel were dropped by prosecutors on Wednesday, December 16, 2015.
Bianca Fichtel (24) was just charged with DUI manslaughter arising out of an April accident. Ms. Fichtel’s reported address is in the Barrington subdivision of Boca Chase (west of 441 and just south of Clint Moore).
Ms. Fichtel has two previous felony arrests, including a 2010 drug paraphernalia charge and a 2011 case involving alleged possession of stolen property that was dropped by prosecutors. She’s also had a few traffic cases including one for leaving the scene of an accident and a high speed on the Turnpike in Broward.
The April accident occurred at Yamato near I-95. Ms. Fichtel’s Ford F-150 allegedly collided with a bicyclist, George Morreale. The 65-year-old died “as a result of multiple blunt force trauma injuries.”
Police indicate that Fichtel had a passenger, Paul Maida, who was himself previously arrested in a January SWAT incident.
The arrest report asserts that Ms. Fichtel’s truck hit Morreale in the bicycle lane, but there appears to be little or no evidence of that.
Ms. Fichtel’s blood was drawn (it’s unclear if that was done properly). The toxicology report did show some drugs in her system and it’s not clear whether the level of those drugs is enough to have caused impairment. The police report vaguely alleges that it might be enough.
The alprazolam and nordiazepam levels are well below “therapeutic” levels. The clonazepam is in the therapeutic range but nowhere near toxic. The other drugs are so low as to be essentially unmeasurable.
This looks like a very difficult case for the prosecution to prove. There are major holes in proving both the cause of the accident and that Fichtel was impaired by drugs.
Tag: bicycle
Andy Foss Killed at Sandalfoot & 441
Update: We heard from many people who had kind words to say about Mr. Foss. Most notable was Valerie, who talked about how kind and thoughtful he was even when he was dealing with his own problems.
We’ve now heard from two readers that the man killed this morning at Sandalfoot and 441 was 34-year-old Andy Foss, whose last known address was in West Sandalfoot.
From one of our readers:
A guy named Jacco … was with him he … stumbled out into traffic. … His grandfather … died a couple months ago … which left him homeless. He has been wandering around ever since… Every time I drove past him I was pretty sure it’d be the last time [because he wasn’t doing well].
We haven’t been able to find out much more about Mr. Foss. He may have been a Spanish River graduate and he had a few mostly minor run-ins with the law over the years. He may also have owned a home in Rainberry Park (near West Boca Medical Center) in the past.
From other sources it’s our impression that Mr. Foss was homeless and was crossing the intersection along with another man (apparently Jacco). One of them was on a bicycle but it’s not clear yet which one. Fire Rescue reported a bicyclist was hit, while PBSO reported it was a pedestrian (which can include bicyclists).
Wednesday's 441-Sandalfoot Pedestrian
Thanks to yet another reader for both the above photo and the details of an incident Wednesday at Sandalfoot and 441.
Regarding your story yesterday about the man hit on 441 and sandalfoot: I was there and know what happened.
The driver was in the turning lane turning from 441 onto Sandalfoot west on a green light. The homeless man was very drunk on his bike fighting with another homeless man when he got pissed and decided to ride into oncoming traffic from the side of the road.
The driver didn’t even see him and the man on the bike collided with the side breaking the mirror and making a couple scratches to the car, his bike was undamaged. The man was taken by ambulance and was highly intoxicated but otherwise seemed ok on the scene.
The police made a report and even the other homeless men acted as witnesses on the driver’s behalf. The driver was found not at fault. I will include a photo to prove how close I was to the incident.
We reported the incident earlier on Facebook and other readers sent us photos, below:
Our best guess is that the police car is from Coconut Creek PD, but we’re not sure.