Lantana Dixie Hwy Crash

Quick Answer

What Happened in Lantana

According to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, PBSO received the crash call at 11:12 a.m. at the intersection of East Ocean Avenue and Dixie Highway. Southbound vehicles sat stopped at a red light.

PBSO crash investigators report that the 34-year-old driver of a 2017 Jeep Wrangler struck a Chevy truck on Dixie Highway north of Lantana Avenue. He then fled southbound at high speed. Moreover, he failed to slow or stop for the Mazda CX driven by Mr. Bedoya, who sat third in line at the red light.

The impact rotated the Mazda nearly 180 degrees and pushed it into a 2016 Toyota 4Runner driven by a woman from Lakewood, Colorado. Meanwhile, the Jeep continued south and struck a 2006 Honda Civic, a 2024 Ford F-350, a 2022 Freightliner box truck, and a 2018 Toyota C-HR with two occupants. Crash debris also reached a 2006 Toyota Prius driven by a visitor from Portland, Oregon.

Three people needed about 10 minutes of heavy extrication. Palm Beach County Health Care District TraumaHawk helicopters flew the Jeep driver and the Honda Civic driver to a trauma center. Notably, PBSO has stated the Jeep driver appears impaired by alcohol or drugs. He was not wearing safety equipment.

Dixie Highway closed in both directions while crash reconstruction units processed the scene. Furthermore, PBSO is asking witnesses or anyone with video footage to contact investigator Josh Schneider at Schneiderj@pbso.org or 561-681-4535.

Florida DUI Civil Liability — § 316.193

Under Fla. Stat. § 316.193, driving under the influence is both a criminal offense and a strong basis for civil liability. Importantly, a DUI conviction is admissible in a related civil case as evidence of automatic legal fault — meaning the impaired driver is presumed at fault for resulting harm.

Even without a criminal conviction, civil plaintiffs can establish DUI civil liability through:

• The crash report and toxicology screening
• Officer observations of impairment (slurred speech, odor of alcohol, FST failures)
• Blood alcohol content testing performed at the trauma center
• Witness testimony regarding pre-crash driver behavior

The Aaron Cohen Act — § 316.027

Before the chain-reaction collision at Ocean Avenue, PBSO investigators report the Jeep first struck a Chevy truck on Dixie Highway north of Lantana Avenue. The driver then fled the scene at high speed. Under Florida law, leaving the scene of a crash involving injury or death is a serious felony.

The Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act increased the penalties for leaving the scene of a fatal Florida crash to a first-degree felony with a 4-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. The Act is named after Aaron Cohen, a cyclist killed by a hit-and-run driver in Miami in 2012.

For the civil case, a fleeing driver’s conduct can support both:

• Enhanced compensatory damages (treating the fleeing driver’s conduct as showing consciousness of fault)
• A separate basis for punitive damages beyond the underlying DUI claim

Florida Wrongful Death Act — §§ 768.16–768.27

Florida’s wrongful death statute (the Florida Wrongful Death Act, Fla. Stat. §§ 768.16–768.27) governs claims arising from fatal injuries. Key features include:

• The decedent’s personal representative — not the family members individually — brings the action on behalf of the estate and statutory survivors
• Recoverable damages include: lost support and services, loss of companionship and protection for the surviving spouse, lost parental companionship for minor children, lost net accumulations of the estate, and medical/funeral expenses paid by survivors
• A 2-year statute of limitations applies under HB 837 (reduced from 4 years for incidents accruing on or after March 24, 2023)

For Mr. Bedoya’s family, the personal representative typically files the action in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, the 15th Judicial Circuit, where Mr. Bedoya resided.

Multi-Vehicle Chain-Reaction Liability

Eight vehicles were involved in this crash. Each vehicle occupant has a separate insurance claim, and the legal analysis for each is fact-specific. Under Florida’s post-HB 837 shared-fault framework, the at-fault Jeep driver bears primary responsibility. However, in multi-impact crashes, secondary impacts can create additional liability questions.

Common issues in chain-reaction analysis include:

• Sudden emergency doctrine — whether intervening drivers had reasonable response time after the initial impact
• Following distance — relevant if any non-Jeep vehicle struck another vehicle as a result of the chain reaction
• Vehicle owner liability — if the Jeep is owned by someone other than the driver, Florida’s Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine imposes joint liability on the vehicle owner

Additionally, the 2022 Freightliner box truck’s involvement introduces potential commercial liability questions if the truck’s driver was working in the course and scope of employment at the time of the crash.

Punitive Damages in DUI Cases — § 768.72

Punitive damages punish defendants for egregious conduct and deter similar conduct by others. Florida law makes DUI cases among the strongest claims for punitive damages in personal injury practice.

Under Fla. Stat. § 768.72, courts may award punitive damages when the defendant’s conduct shows intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Plaintiffs must specifically plead punitive damages and prove them with evidence. Florida courts have repeatedly held that driving while impaired meets the gross negligence standard as a matter of law, particularly with extreme intoxication or prior DUIs.

For this Lantana Dixie Highway crash:

• The Jeep driver’s suspected impairment supports a punitive claim
• The hit-and-run conduct before the fatal collision is additional aggravating evidence
• Fleeing at high speed through a busy arterial intersection shows conscious disregard for human life

Stacked UM Coverage for the Insured

Many Florida DUI defendants carry only minimum required liability coverage — or none at all. For victims, stacked uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage is often the most critical insurance asset in the recovery analysis.

Under Fla. Stat. § 627.727, Florida requires every auto carrier to offer UM coverage on every Florida auto policy unless rejected in writing. Stacking allows victims to add together the per-vehicle limits across all vehicles on a multi-car policy — potentially multiplying the recoverable insurance asset.

For the Lantana crash victims, immediate priorities include:

• Identifying every auto policy in the household for each occupant (parents, spouses, children at the same address)
• Confirming whether each policy is stacked or unstacked
• Preserving the UM claim by giving timely notice to the carrier
• Determining whether the Jeep is owned by a parent or other relative (triggering the Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine and additional liability coverage)

Out-of-State Victim Considerations

This crash involved drivers from Colorado (2016 Toyota 4Runner) and Oregon (2006 Toyota Prius). Out-of-state visitors injured in Florida crashes face unique considerations:

• Florida law controls — The crash occurred in Florida, so Florida tort law applies to the civil claim regardless of where the plaintiff lives. This includes HB 837’s 2-year statute of limitations and shared-fault rules.
• Florida courts have authority — Palm Beach County Circuit Court has authority over the civil claim. Out-of-state plaintiffs file suit in the county where the crash occurred or where the defendant resides.
• PIP coverage — If the visitor’s home-state policy includes Florida coverage, Florida PIP covers medical expenses up to the policy limits. Otherwise, the visitor may rely on health insurance and pursue full recovery against the at-fault driver.
• Insurance coordination — Out-of-state policies require careful coordination with Florida UM rules. Therefore, a Florida attorney is typically essential to navigate the differences.

HB 837 — 2-Year Filing Deadline

Florida’s 2023 tort reform statute, HB 837, reduced the negligence statute of limitations from 4 years to 2 years for most personal injury and wrongful death claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023.

For the Lantana Dixie Highway crash on a Tuesday in June 2026, that means:

• Plaintiffs must generally file personal injury and wrongful death claims by the same date in June 2028
• The 2-year period applies even to out-of-state plaintiffs
• HB 837 also raised the shared-fault bar to 51% — a plaintiff found more than 50% at fault recovers nothing

What to Do If You or a Loved One Were Involved

This page does not provide legal advice for any specific case. The following is general Florida-law information for anyone who was an occupant of one of the involved vehicles or who lost a family member in the crash:

• Document and preserve evidence. Request copies of the official PBSO crash report once available. Photograph any visible injuries. Save medical records and bills.
• Do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company — even your own carrier’s representative — before understanding your rights. Statements made early can hurt your case in unexpected ways months later.
• Identify every applicable insurance policy. Each household member’s auto policy, every employer policy, and every umbrella policy may be relevant.
• Preserve evidence about the at-fault driver. The Jeep’s ownership, the driver’s history of DUI offenses, employer information, and any commercial connections all bear on the recovery analysis.
• Consult a Florida personal injury attorney early. The 2-year HB 837 deadline, the need for trauma-care coordination, and the complexity of multi-vehicle and DUI claims all argue for early professional involvement.

Frequently Asked Questions