palmetto park – Page 6 – West Boca News

Reckless Driver Hits Tree in Boca Winds

We heard about a traffic incident last night from a reader and also from a personal friend. We’ve checked the blotter and see no arrests that fit with this incident nor the pedestrians hit in front of West Boca Medical Center. We have reached out to PBSO but so far we’re not getting meaningful answers on either one.

Me and my friend almost got into a wreck because of these people but the person driving the truck seemed drunk and was swerving all over the road. They hit a tree and then the driver ran from the scene and left the truck!

And from our friend:

A truck passed us going over 100 in a residential area just outside [Boca Winds]. He turned sharply into [Boca Falls] immediately in front of another car, blocking the car from moving forward. We thought it might be a case of road rage and that the two drivers were about to get into it. But the truck backs away after a couple of seconds (and probably after seeing that road was the entrance to a gated subdivision – Boca Falls), cuts in front of us, and goes across the street into [Boca Winds], driving really wildly and out of control. The truck slams into a tree and just then a police car flies by us in pursuit. The driver of the truck jumped out of the vehicle and “escaped” on foot with the officer in pursuit. This all happened right in front of us over just 30 seconds or so. We had to back out of the entrance to get to our street another way.

Boca Falls and Boca Winds have entrances that meet on West Palmetto Park Road about 2 miles west of 441.

Here’s is last night’s public statement from PBSO:

Around 9 pm this evening PBSO responded to a hit and run accident involving 1 vehicle and 3 pedestrians. The vehicle was traveling north bound on State Road 7 just north of Central Park Blvd South.
The three pedestrians were riding skate boards on the bicycle lane on the east side of the road going north when they were struck by the vehicle. The vehicle left the scene heading north and has been apprehended. Two of the pedestrians where taken to delray medical center and are in stable condition and one was taken west boca medical.
The investigation is open and ongoing and the driver will be checked for possible impairment.

In the blotter we found a hit-and-run arrest, but the driver was from West Palm Beach and court records say that relates to an incident in July. We also see a “fleeing law enforcement” arrest, but the driver in that incident is from Pahokee, which is an awfully long drive from Palmetto Park Road.

Hobby Lobby Grand Opening: September 29th

Hobby Lobby announced today that their new West Boca store will have its grand opening and ribbon cutting event two weeks from today. It will be Monday, September 29th at 9 am.
This will be their 30th location in the state of Florida. Luis Gandia is the store manager of the 52,000 square-foot retail facility located in West Boca Square at Palmetto Park Road & 441. That’s the plaza with Target. The store is on the opposite end from Target, near Chili’s, filling in most of the space left by the former Beall’s.

“We feel blessed for the fantastic opportunity to be a part of this community. Our goal is for customers to experience the exceptional service, selection and value Hobby Lobby offers as we continue to expand nationwide,” stated John Schumacher, Assistant Vice President of Advertising.

The store “offers more than 70,000 crafting and home decor products in its stores. Departments include floral, fabric, needle art, custom framing, baskets, home accents, wearable art, arts and crafts, jewelry making, scrapbooking and paper crafting supplies.”
Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. All Hobby Lobby stores are closed on Sunday.
We have written several articles on the incoming West Boca Hobby Lobby, and like Walmart it has been somewhat controversial among our readers.

West Boca Walmart Grand Opening – Photos and Videos

The West Boca Walmart got off to a beautiful sunrise start this morning. We attended the Grand Opening (or reopening). For those who don’t know, it’s on the southeast corner of Palmetto Park Road and US-441:

Hours are generally 7 am to 10 pm but see our earlier article for more detailed hours.
Below are some photos and videos of the event. First a few shots of the front and the crowd outside before the event started.

Next, here’s a video walk-through of the entrance of the store:

It was definitely a Walmart inside, and it felt new. There’s a lot of space. It seems bigger than we expected. There was some cuteness, with a couple of mascots on hand:

They had some freebies and store manager David Bonutti told us that they have various events happening for the rest of the week, through Sunday. Here are the pharmacy staff with a table and some kind of giveaway.

We were not surprised to see the ammo counter was very busy. It’s a popular thing at Walmart and shoppers like to get there early and get whatever’s on the shelves.

The grocery area, in particular, is larger. We figured it might be 15,000 square feet, but it’s probably over 30,000 square feet. In other words, it’s as big as a Publix.

This throws off our previous analysis of the grocery store competition in West Boca from when we heard Aldi might be coming. Now we wonder if Aldi might not come. The competition may be a tight squeeze for Western Beef, which is right in the middle of two big Walmarts and across the street from a Publix.
There’s good reason for them to worry. Walmart’s parking lot was pretty full for just the first day and so early in the morning:

And people were pouring into the store:

Here are a few more pictures from inside, and some videos of the event:

Ribbon Cutting:

Blessing:

And this one’s long, but it’s speeches and more including:
Walmart cheer starting around 30 seconds in;
National Anthem around 1:45 in;
Store manager David Bonutti around 4 minutes in; and more.

Robbery in Palms Plaza Parking Lot at Powerline & Palmetto Park

It was a bad day for one jeweler. In early July he was in the parking lot of Palms Plaza where his family owns Raymond Lee Jewelers. A man attacked him and stole his Rolex watch, estimated to be worth $30,000.
William Dublynn (32) was arrested Monday accused of the heist.

His reported address is in the Canyon Isles development in Boynton Beach in a property that appears to be owned by relatives. We see no prior court history for Mr. Dublynn in Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade.
Per reports, Mr. Dublynn sold the watch at the Jewels in Time store on Federal Highway and then unsuccessfully tried to cash the check at a bank in Miami. A warrant was issued for his arrest by a Palm Beach County judge. The details are unclear but it appears Miami police caught up to Mr. Dublynn a few days later and eventually he was brought into Palm Beach County.
In addition to the Robbery and Aggravated Battery charges reported by other media, he faces an additional charge of Dealing in Stolen Property. That charge was filed earlier than the other two and may relate to selling the watch.
Raymond Lee Jewelers is in Palms Plaza, on Powerline south of Palmetto Park Road, behind the Olive Garden.

Mr. Dublynn remains in custody at the Main Detention Center. His bond was set at an unusually high $300,000. He was scheduled to appear yesterday morning in front of Judge Rosenberg on the robbery and battery charges, though the docket doesn’t show what happened. From the stolen property case it looks like he’s been assigned a public defender and has another court date set for Judge Kastrenakes in mid-September.

Flooding and Fire; But No Famine or Pestilence Yet

Via Palm Beach Fire Rescue we have a report of flooding in southern parts of the county (see above). However, we were just out in areas around 441 from Palmetto Park Road down into Coconut Creek and did not see any significant floods. There was some standing water in front of Logger’s Run Middle School and on Ponderosa by the gas station, but we’ve seen much worse at those locations. We did not see any other problems.
It may be worse as you go east. A reader sent us this shot from near Palmetto and Powerline:

Also we saw a report of a garage fire:

San Germain Avenue is north of Palmetto Park Road and west of Powerline, not too far from Del Prado Elementary School.