Paul Wilson Streater of Fort Lauderdale, Florida has been identified as the driver of the pickup truck that crashed into a minivan on Saturday in Delray Beach, killing four people.
Streater, 21, remained on the scene and hasn’t been charged. He is reportedly cooperating with investigators.
“He is cooperating with investigators and was released from police custody pending the conclusion of the traffic homicide investigation,” the Delray Beach Police Department said on its Twitter account.
According to police spokesperson Dani Moschella, the alleged crash occurred at around 7:20 p.m. on Saturday night. A gray Chevy Silverado pickup was driving at “a very high rate of speed” south on Federal Highway when it encountered traffic.
The driver of the pickup truck swerved into a turning lane to avoid the traffic, but there was a white minivan waiting to make a left turn on that lane. The Silverado rear-ended the minivan and the impact pushed both cars into the northbound lane, where they crashed into a Buick Encore SUV.
Fire rescue workers used a winch to separate the three entangled vehicles, and cut open the disfigured minivan using multiple hydraulic tools to reach the four people inside. Streater was not injured and the two men in the Buick were unharmed. The four people inside the minivan were killed in the crash. Their names have not been released.
Investigators are trying to determine whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash. Streater’s attorney, Samuel Halpern, told the press his client was not drunk or on drugs at the time of the crash. He reportedly allowed police to take a blood sample.
“It’s a nightmare. I can just say that his heart is going out to the family and he couldn’t be more remorseful that this happened,” Halpern told The Palm Beach Post. “It was an accident. he’s just extremely, extremely distraught.”
Halpern wouldn’t comment on if Streater was speeding stating that “witnesses can be wrong,” and couldn’t speculate whether his client will face charges for the crash.
“It’s up to the police whether they want to pursue a criminal case for this accident or not. It’s a question of do they legally believe that he was violating a criminal statute as opposed to a civil infraction,” Halpern said. “Unfortunately traffic accidents happen all the time and criminal charges are rare, and I would hope there are no criminal charges. If there are then we’ll deal with it.”
Halpern added that Streater comes from a “warm and loving family” and they support him “100 percent.”
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Source: 4.29.18 Delray crash driver identified as Paul Streater, 21, of Fort Lauderdale.pdf