DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Delray Beach Police say a mechanic at a Delray Beach Toyota dealership was on a test drive when he may have caused a deadly crash.
Witnesses told police they saw the employee driving a silver, 2002 Lexus northbound on Dixie Highway, possibly in excess of 100 MPH.
Delray Beach Police say the driver of the Lexus had to swerve to avoid hitting another car. He lost control of the Lexus and drove into the southbound lanes and then into some soft dirt on the west side of the road. Police say he then tried to drive back on Dixie Highway and collided with a southbound Honda Goldwing motorcycle.
A man and a woman were on the motorcycle. The woman was pronounced dead shortly after the crash. The man was taken to the Delray Medical Center with critical injuries.
The driver of the Lexus was not injured. The investigation is ongoing and charges are pending, according to police.
Witnesses at the nearby Schumacher auto repair shop saw and heard the crash.
Employee David Randolph says he happened to drive by the Lexus seconds before the crash.
“I saw, which was the Lexus, fly past me. It was at such a force that it shook my vehicle,” Randolph said.
He saw the crash in his rearview mirror moments later.
“I saw just debris and dust everywhere…. It could have been me. It could have been me.”
Randolph says he picked up his phone and called his coworkers to race out to help.
Employee Andy Manasse was one of the first to run to help.
“When I got out there they were both laying on the ground,” Manasse said.
Manasse says both were in excruciating pain. The woman, he says, was struggling to breathe and both had ‘extreme’ injuries.
Manasse says the man was trying to get to his wife. He held the man down so he wouldn’t hurt himself. “He didn’t really speak a lot of English. The only English he knew was ‘where’s my wife’.”
Meanwhile, Manasse says other witnesses blocked traffic and kept calling medics.
Rescue crews raced both victims to the hospital.
Manasse and Randolph say they’re struggling to understand why someone on a test drive would speed on Dixie Highway.
“That’s the worst road to test any of that…. there’s been a couple people killed over there the last couple of years.”
It’s a devastating reminder to them of the dangers of the road, and the importance of driving their cars safely.
“A few seconds of thrill for somebody’s life? It was really not worth it."
The dealership issued this response Thursday:
Yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, April 6th 2016, an Ed Morse Automotive Group employee was involved in a fatal motor vehicle accident. Ed Morse Automotive Group extends its heartfelt sympathy and prayers to the family and loved ones involved in the accident. The Delray Beach Police Department is currently conducting a full investigation.