Tesla Fatal Crash in Deerfield Beach

Sunday morning before 4 am there was a crash on Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach. Readers reported that Hillsboro was closed for as long as 14 hours, and we verified this with both Google Maps and to some extent with the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s office has provided almost no detail about this incident.

Update: Sheriff’s Office responded Tuesday morning. The 2o-year-old driver of the white BMW has been charged with vehicular homicide, DUI and reckless driving.

Just before 4 a.m., Raphael Candido Vilela was driving a 2005 BMW 530i traveling westbound on West Hillsboro Boulevard at a high rate of speed. Sebastian Espinoza was driving a 2018 Tesla Model 3 traveling eastbound in the designated left turn lane, turning northbound on Country Club Boulevard.

As Espinoza’s Tesla entered the intersection, Vilela’s BMW struck the passenger side of the Tesla. The impact ripped the passenger side, rear seats and trunk area off the Tesla.

After impact, the BMW caught fire as it continued westbound for approximately 700 feet. The front wheels of the car detached at impact causing the engine compartment to drag across the roadway.

Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue transported all the occupants to Broward Health North with varying degrees of injuries. Thais Haug, the passenger of the Tesla, died as a result of her injuries. Sebastian Espinoza, the driver of the Tesla, was treated and released with minor injuries.

The driver of the BMW, Raphael Candido Vilela, as well as the three passengers, Alive Silva, Giovannia Silva and Joao Coneglian, suffered serious bodily injuries and remain in intensive care.

The investigation released that excessive speed and driver impairment were the primary factors of the crash. Vilela is now facing charges for vehicular homicide, DUI and reckless driving.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact BSO Traffic Homicide Det. Anthony Morales at 954-321-4840

Our sources tell us that the white car in the middle of Hillsboro is a Lexus (update: Some readers say it was a BMW) and had a driver and passenger both injured. At last report both are still alive.

Remains of the white Lexus

The Sheriff told us there was on fatality and two critically injured. A couple sources tell us that the other car in the accident was a Tesla and that the driver passed away. Our best guess is a Model 3, though we’re not completely sure it’s a Tesla at all. We saw a photo that looked like a Model 3, but the wheel logo did not look like one from a Tesla. We don’t have the rights to include that photo in this article, we don’t have a good enough photo to be sure, and the Sheriff is not talking.

Supposedly this is a Tesla

We don’t know how reliable this is but there is some indication that the White Lexus/BMW driver may have been impaired by alcohol. A source also indicates the white car was driving above the speed limit on Hillsboro when the Tesla came out from a plaza on the side.

If it is a Tesla there’s a good chance it will have video of the incident that can be used to accurately determine fault, and otherwise let everyone know what happened. But that’s only true if the Sheriff decides to share information with the public, which so far they’re not doing.

It is unusual for a crash investigation to take 14 hours. We usually see them take 4-5 hours. And it is also unusual in our experience for police to keep details quiet and be unresponsive when they’re blocking a major road for such a long time.

There is no indication as yet whether the Tesla was operating on auto-pilot, but from the source’s description it does not seem like a situation where a Tesla would be self-driving.

We will reach out to Tesla to see if they can provide any information.

Disclosure: The author owns stock in Tesla and runs an Elon Musk fan club group on Facebook.

Sandalfoot Woman Arrested in Fatal Crash

Laura Haggerty; image by PBSO
Laura Haggerty; image by PBSO

The Broward Sheriff’s Office issued a press release regarding the arrest of a Sandalfoot woman from a fatal crash that occurred on Loxahatchee Road in Parkland back in May:

Broward Sheriff’s Office traffic homicide investigators have arrested a Boca Raton woman who killed her passenger in a single-vehicle crash on Mother’s Day in Parkland.
Laura Haggerty, 47, was taken into custody Sept. 30 with the help of the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. She faces two DUI/Manslaughter charges and one charge of vehicular homicide.
Around 4 p.m. May 8, Kelly Rider, 35, was a passenger in a Ford Explorer that was heading eastbound on Loxahatchee Road. Laura Haggerty was behind the wheel. Haggerty lost control of the vehicle near the 12200 block when her SUV drifted off the road. Haggerty overcorrected, causing the vehicle to veer across the roadway and collide with the guardrail on the north side of the street. The SUV then began to spin in a counterclockwise motion, before rolling over.
Rider, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, was ejected. Coral Springs Fire Department pronounced him dead at the scene. BSO Air Rescue transported Haggerty to Broward Health North.
According to BSO detectives, she was speeding and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.25.

The BSO report indicates that both Haggery and Rider lived at the same address on Sailfish Road in Watergate Estates, just north of the west stretch of Sandalfoot Blvd.

Photo of Rider and Haggerty from Rider's Facebook page.
Photo of Rider and Haggerty from Rider’s Facebook page.

Book Review: Wherever There Is Light

peter-golden-wherever-light
I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of a new book, Wherever There Is Light, by author Peter Golden. The book will be released in a few days, but you can pre-order on Amazon now.
Many of our local readers will appreciate how much of the story takes place in South Florida as well as the New York metropolitan area (especially parts of New Jersey).
The characters are richly portrayed and the story is captivating. It covers a lot of ground, both literally and figuratively. Just on geography they move around: Florida, New Jersey, Greenwich Village, Harlem, Paris, and Germany. With ideas it gets into art, music, business, philosophy, war, the Holocaust, race relations, family, love and more.
Central to the story are Julian and Kendall. Julian is a powerful Jewish man who has lived through difficult times and horrible loss. He’s the kind of guy you go to when you need to get something done, or perhaps undone.
Kendall, a black woman, is smart, thoughtful, and artistically gifted. They operate on different planes, yet somehow they connect. Except when they don’t.
The ending is brilliant. You won’t believe it.
Golden previously wrote his first novel, Comeback Love, and is known as well for significant non-fiction works such as Quiet Diplomat.
There’s something special about the way the best authors write. The reader can feel the author’s voice. You can tell Golden isn’t just spitting out words, but rather that he treats writing as a craft.

Date: Aug. 10, 2015
Time: 9:05 p.m.
Place of Occurrence: 4200 block of N.W. 48 St. (Wiles Road), unincorporated Pompano Beach
Driver(s): adult male, name withheld (DECEASED)

A driver lost his life Monday night after losing control of his vehicle and hitting a utility pole. Speed may be a factor in the Broward Sheriff’s Office’s ensuing traffic homicide investigation.
The driver was heading east on Wiles Road at 9:05 p.m. when, for reasons as yet unknown, he lost control of his dark-colored sedan and drove over the median, flipped and hit a utility pole. The driver was thrown from the car, which then caught fire. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue extinguished the fire and pronounced the driver dead on scene.
Debris from the crash hit another vehicle, but its occupants were uninjured.
Traffic homicide detectives continue the investigation.

Brazen Robbery in Pembroke Park: Video

Normally we don’t cover Broward County events but this one has such a compelling video we thought our readers might want to see it.
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From the Broward Sheriff:
Employees and customers of a Pembroke Park cell phone store were shocked when two masked men rushed in armed with an assault rifle.
At 1:25 p.m. on July 1, three suspects drove up to the Metro PCS store in Pembroke Park. They parked a grey or dark-colored 2010 to 2014 Nissan Maxima in front of the store. The driver remained in the car, but two men got out and ran into the store. Both men covered their faces, and one of them carried a black semi-automatic assault rifle with a scope in his right hand.

Editor’s note: There is no such thing as a “semi-automatic assault rifle.” Assault rifles, by definition, are capable of fully automatic fire.

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The two men entered the store screaming, “Give me the register.” They pointed the rifle at the victims and ordered the three employees and four customers, including a baby, not to move. The employees quickly handed the robbers three cash drawers.

Detectives are searching for a male, approximately 6’ tall with a very thin build. He used a black T-shirt to cover his face. He wore a black T-shirt and light-colored pants. He carried a black semi-automatic assault rifle in his right hand. The second suspect is a male, approximately 5’8” with a thin build. He wore a black or dark grey shirt with grey pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Theophilus Woulard at (954) 321-4553 or report anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers of Broward County at (954) 493-TIPS (8477) or online at www.browardcrimestoppers.org. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest.