A West Palm Beach man died early Sunday morning after a rear-end collision sent his SUV spinning into a telephone pole in Delray Beach, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office reported.
According to its statement, German Barreto was heading north on Military Trail around 3:30 a.m. when a Mecedes C250 came upon his Toyota RAV4 from behind.
The investigation determined the Mercedes’ driver, identified as Thomas Lewis, did not fully steer away from the crash and his sedan struck the left-rear portion of Barreto’s vehicle.
The RAV4 “violently rotated” and went off the road, striking the telephone pole at the Las Verdes Drive intersection, the Sheriff’s Office stated. The report added the Mercedes ended up going over a curb, across the sidewalk, and came to rest in the grass.
The Sheriff’s Office has opened a criminal investigation, with the report noting drugs or alcohol may have played a role for Lewis, who suffered minor injuries in the wreck.