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Driver arrested in deadly hit-and-run in Boynton Beach

Posted at 8:13 AM, Apr 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-03 10:07:35-04

A driver is in custody after a young motorcyclist was killed early Sunday morning in Boynton Beach.

The wreck happened just before 1 a.m. at the intersection of Hypoloxo and Lawrence Roads.

Investigators said 21-year-old Brandon Wesson of Palm Beach Gardens was riding his 2005 black Honda CBR motorcycle and traveling westbound on Hypoloxo Road.  

A pickup truck driver, Villanueva Rivera, was traveling eastbound when the two collided. Wesson was pronounced dead at 12:57 a.m.

Villanueva Rivera was arrested a short time later on Nowata Road, just 0.8 miles away from the crash.

The investigation found that Villanueva Rivera entered the left turn lane to head north on Lawrence Road and did not see the motorcyclist approaching as he made the turn. This caused Villanueva Rivera's truck to strike the front of the motorcycle.

Police say the front forks (including the front wheel) of the motorcycle snapped from the frame due to the force of the impact.

According to Boynton Beach police, Rivera fled the scene immediately, dragging the front forks of the motorcycle under his truck.

Approximately 1,400 feet north of the area of impact, scrape marks and fluid trails show the truck left the roadway to the east side of the road.

Not far from this area, the front wheel assembly of the motorcycle finally came loose from the truck and came to rest in the right turn lane entering into Royal Palm School on Lawrence Road.

Officers followed the fluid trail as it continued north on Lawrence Road before it turned east on Nowata Road.

Police said the truck made a wide right turn, traveling into the grass of the residence located on the northeast corner of Nowata Road and Lawrence Road. As the truck continued east on Nowata Road, the truck struck a vehicle parked in the driveway of a residence.

Villanueva Rivera was located in front of his residence, a short distance away from where he struck the parked vehicle on Nowata Road.

An officer spoke in Spanish with Villanueva Rivera, who admitted he did not have a driver's license due to the fact that he does not have any documentation for him being in the United States legally.

Villanueva Rivera was placed under arrest for one count of leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death, and one count of operating a vehicle with no driver's license causing a death.