WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A 31-year-old Pompano Beach man is facing a DUI manslaughter charge after a woman riding on his motorcycle was killed in a crash with a car on St. Patrick's Day night, Florida Highway Patrol said Tuesday.
Pedro Hernandez Mendez, 31, was arrested early Monday and also was cited for driving without a license causing death. According to the arrest report, he never had a Florida license or ID card, and he told investigators he did not have legal immigration status in the United States.
The crash was reported at 9:16 p.m. Sunday at the southbound Interstate 95-Forest Hill Boulevard overpass in West Palm Beach, FHP said.
Mendez was driving southbound on I-95 in his 2015 Suzuki GSK motorcycle behind a 2019 Toyota Corolla driven by a 44-year-old West Palm Beach man.
A third vehicle was merging from the inside shoulder onto the inside lane ahead of the Corolla.
The car slowed for the vehicle and shifted to the right.
Mendez failed to stop, slow or maneuver to avoid a collision with the Corolla, FHP said.
The motorcycle overturned with the driver and passenger ejected. They came to rest on the center lane of southbound I-95.
The passenger was pronounced deceased at the scene by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
Mendez was taken to Saint Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach with incapacitating injuries, according to FHP.
The suspect told a trooper he had been to the beach before the crash and consumed some alcoholic beverages, according to the arrest report. A trooper "noted the smell of a strong and distinct odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage emitting from the suspect." He refused a voluntary blood sample but a judge later ordered a draw.
The Corolla driver had no reported injuries, FHP said.
Lake Worth Beach