A 26-year-old man is facing criminal charges in connection with a fatal wrong-way crash on Interstate 95 near West Palm Beach.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers arrested Edwin Castro, a native of Guatemala, on charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and six additional charges in connection with the Sunday, Oct. 4 early morning crash near Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.
Investigators said Castro's blood alcohol content was above the legal threshold to drive when he drove south on the northbound lanes of I-95 at speeds of about 60 to 65 mph before causing a three-vehicle crash.
The crash killed Angelo Genova, 68, and seriously injured Robert Bradio, 72, authorities said.
According to Castro's arrest report, a blood sample drawn about five hours
after the crash revealed Castro had a blood-alcohol level of 0.239, nearly three times Florida's legal limit of 0.08.
Circuit Judge Donald Hafele on Monday, Oct. 5 ordered Castro be held without bond and assigned a public defender to represent him. As a matter of policy, the Palm Beach County Public Defender's Office does not comment on active cases.
The arrest report states Castro has a final order of removal stemming from a denied asylum case.
26-year-old kills a man, injured another in DUI wrong-way crash
According to the arrest report, a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy spotted Castro driving a blue 2021 GMC Sierra pickup truck south in the northbound lanes of I-95 shortly before the crash.
Troopers said Castro's blue pickup truck collided head-on with the front left side of Genova's 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan at about 5:30 a.m. The impact caused a 2001 Cadillac El Dorado sedan driven by Bradio to crash into the rear of Genova's car.
An FHP trooper who responded to the crash scene reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol coming from Castro's car. The trooper also noted that Castro had bloodshot eyes and slurred and mumbled speech, according to the arrest report.
Another FHP trooper found Genova unresponsive and not breathing inside his vehicle. He found Bradio's body outside of his vehicle, where he was injured but conscious.
Paramedics pronounced Genova dead at the scene. Bradio was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center with a lacerated aorta and other incapacitating injuries, authorities said.
Castro suffered incapacitating injuries during the crash and remains in the hospital. He will be held at the Palm Beach County Jail.
Valentina Palm covers immigration and breaking news for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Driver charged in fatal wrong-way DUI crash on I-95 in West Palm Beach
