Serious Accident Closes 441 Northbound: Scene Photos & Video

Update: Per a reader the road is still closed as of 11:40 pm on Friday night.
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A friend alerted us tonight to an accident scene on the northbound side of 441 near Target and West Boca Medical Center. We went to the scene and took several photos as well as video. A brief video summary is below, but it was early in our investigation and we learned more afterward.

We also received the following thanks to Palm Beach County Alerts:

***WEST BOCA*** Pedestrian Accident — Central Park Blvd S @ State Road 7 — R51 onscene in front of West Boca Hospital, vehicle hit multiple pedestrians, Incident Commander advising they have 2 Trauma Alerts going to Delray Trauma Center by ground & 1 other patient non-critical — Tac 4A

Here’s a map showing the location:

At the scene this reporter was able to see various items of debris in the roadway and on the shoulder. In particular there was a shoe or sneaker, a flip-flop, and a hat, all in the travel portion of the roadway.
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I also saw two different skateboards, an orange one just off the shoulder at the south end of the scene, and a green one further into the grass at the north end of the debris area. In the picture below, the orange skateboard is at the lower left corner and you may be able to see the shoe in roughly the middle of the picture.
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I’m not sure why this worked with my camera but the shot below gives a good sense of the amount of debris in the roadway behind one of the cars that was on the scene:
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Later on deputies from PBSO were spray-painting the roadway where the items were and then collecting the items as evidence, as seen in the two videos below:


Piecing it all together based on my experience in handling criminal and personal injury cases including accident reconstructions, certain details stand out. First of all the shoe, flip-flop and hat in the roadway suggest that there wasn’t just one pedestrian hit by a vehicle but multiple and they were in the roadway when they were hit. It is somewhat common for a pedestrian to be literally knocked out of their shoes when hit by a car. In this case it would appear that two different pedestrians were hit, as it seems unlikely that one person would be wearing a flip-flop on one foot and a shoe on the other. For legal help with a pedestrian accident, you may wish to reach out to a law firm like Ruloff, Swain, Haddad, Morecock, Talbert & Woodward, P.C. to help you out.
There is not much lighting on the northbound side of the road and it may have been difficult for a driver to see skateboarders crossing the road in the dark. We were notified of the accident after 8:30 pm and it was dark.
Shortly before we left the scene the individuals we saw at the side of the road were allowed to leave. It’s unclear if they were just witnesses, or if one of their vehicles had been involved in the collision. I did not see any damage to either vehicle though the lighting was poor and I was not allowed to get close to the vehicles.
I should also note that a reader told us:

Two teenagers on the ground by west boca medical center. Looks like they must have been hit by a car or something.

Those who have been the victim of injuries sustained by being hit by a vehicle may wish to speak with lawyers such as the ones at GJEL.com.
Also, per CBS 12: “Three people were riding skateboards in the bike lane when they were hit by the vehicle. The vehicle then fled the scene and the driver was later caught, according to The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.”
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Hobby Lobby Grand Opening: September 29th

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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.

Hobby Lobby Hiring Event Next Week

The West Boca Hobby Lobby has announced a hiring event, taking place next week at the new Hampton Inn in Coconut Creek.
It all happens Monday (September 1st) through Friday (the 5th) from 10 am to 5 pm each day.
At the hiring event, applicants will be interviewed for new store temporary setup help at $10/hour minimum with opportunity for full and part-time positions.
Temporary and part-time jobs pay a minimum of $10/hour. Full time jobs start at $15/hour and include a variety of benefits.
Jobs include floral, crafts, art, custom framing, hobbies, fabric and of course cashiers.
The Hampton Inn is at 5740 State Road 7 (US-441) in Coconut Creek, on the west side of 441 and just north of the Sawgrass Expressway.

For residents of West Boca, it’s probably best to turn left at NW 61st Street as you’re coming down US-441:
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We’ve previously written several articles about the incoming West Boca Hobby Lobby. The store will be opening in West Boca Square (the Target plaza) by the end of September.
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Lenny's Kosher Pizza

Update: Per reader report on July 10, 2015, Lenny’s has closed.
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There’s a new pizza in an old pizza place. Lenny’s Pizza opened this week in the former Steven’s Pizza that used to be Frankie’s Pizza.
The exterior and interior are mostly the same. They haven’t even changed the sign yet.

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The big change is it’s now kosher. That’s a big plus for Jews who keep kosher. It’s unclear how it will appeal to others.
The biggest thing non-kosher pizza eaters will notice is there are no meat toppings. No pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, etc.
They do have a lunch special – $5.50 for two cheese slices and a soda. The slices we got were positively huge. A couple could conceivably share this.

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One of us had plain cheese (above). The other had one slice with tomatoes and the other with fresh garlic (extra cost).

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I loved it, though the garlic was invisible. It still tasted good. The crust was very thin and had great texture. The menu says they use Yoshon flour, which has special significance to devout Jews.
My companion thought the pizza was just okay. She likes Brooklyn Boys better.
The soda is also different. Again this looks like an effort to be extremely kosher. We both had cola and it tasted just like Coke.

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Ordering is different. There’s no wait staff. You go up to the counter and order and the soda is self serve. They did bring the pizza out to us when it was ready.

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There was no Parmesan cheese on the table, which seemed a little odd.

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We wonder how Lenny’s will do. Is there enough of a market of kosher eaters near 441 and Palmetto? We aren’t sure.
Here is the menu, which may be temporary.

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We appreciate the irony of a Kosher restaurant in spittin’ distance from the supposedly anti-Semitic Hobby Lobby. But then we don’t believe that about Hobby Lobby anyway.

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Speaking of Hobby Lobby, we took another peek inside. They have a long way to go.

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West Boca Hobby Lobby: End of September

Hobby Lobby Stores announced that their new 52,000 square foot West Boca store will open at the end of September. This is earlier than we had previously heard that it would open mid-Fall. Construction and renovations have begun on the former Bealls in West Boca Square (aka the Target plaza).
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Hobby Lobby’s thirtieth location in Florida will bring about 35 – 50 jobs to the community paying $15 per hour for full time and $10 per hour for part-time associates.
 
“We offer a wide variety of craft and home decor products including exclusive Hobby Lobby brands. First-time shoppers will be pleasantly surprised at the large store size and the exceptional service provided by our trained associates,” stated John Schumacher, Assistant Vice President of Advertising.
Hobby Lobby has over 600 stores across the nation that average 55,000 square feet in size and 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 previously wrote in some depth about Hobby Lobby and how it might affect the Michael’s in Somerset Shoppes.