WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A fatal crash caused heavy traffic delays Monday on eastbound Okeechobee Boulevard at Sansbury Way in West Palm Beach.
Police said the two-vehicle crash, involving a pickup truck and a Mazda SUV, occurred just after 9:30 a.m.
Investigators said the wreck caused the truck to roll over and trapped the driver inside.
Police said he was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Monday night, spokesman Mike Jachles identified the pickup driver as William Kuebler III, 59, of Palm Beach County.
There were four people — two adults and two children — inside the SUV, investigators said.
The driver of the Mazda, a 73-year-old woman, and her front seat passenger, a 19-year-old man, were taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center with minor injuries. The two rear seat passengers in the SUV, a 19-year-old man and 18-year-old woman were not injured. They are all residents of Palm Beach County.
Eastbound Okeechobee Boulevard at Sansbury Way was closed for hours but reopened Monday just after 2:30 p.m.
Chopper 5 flew over the scene just before noon and spotted the truck on its roof along the road in a grassy area. The SUV had substantial frontal damage and was still in the middle of the eastbound lanes of Okeechobee Boulevard.
Palm Beach police traffic homicide investigators conducted the on-scene investigation and interviewed witnesses. They determined the Mazda was westbound on Okeechobee Boulevard turning south onto Sansburys Way with a green light when the speeding, eastbound Explorer ran a red light and struck the Mazda. The impact caused the Explorer to overturn and crash into a traffic signal pole and shear off a pedestrian handrail along the sidewalk.
Investigators believe alcohol may be a factor in the crash but no charges are pending