Prosecutors have charged a Boca Raton teenager with DUI manslaughter in connection with the death of a 51-year-old motorcyclist.
Investigators say the 16-year-old Jacob Leighton backed his Jeep Grand Cherokee out of a shopping plaza parking lot in June 2025 and drove onto North Dixie Highway without first pausing to check for oncoming traffic.
Navin Pungoti, a motorcyclist who was not wearing a helmet, braked hard, went down and slid into the side of Leighton's Jeep.
Boca Raton police arrived at the intersection of North Dixie and Northeast 21st Street to find Pungoti dead, his skull fractured. Two women who saw the crash pointed officers to the driver of the Jeep. According to officers, Leighton sat nearby with shaking legs, his car still running
and smelling strongly of marijuana.
Officers who spoke with Leighton said he slurred his words, rubbed his eyes and put on sunglasses to avoid eye contact. He broke down more than once and told officers that his life was now over, and his father would be "very upset" with him.
Leighton's father, a radiologist who previously worked at Delray Medical Center, soon arrived and stood with the teen while officers read him his rights. The teen said he understood, then declined to answer questions.
According to police, Leighton's blood tested positive for THC, the main chemical compound in marijuana. Investigators later searched Leighton's Jeep and found a glass bong and a lighter, along with traces of what looked like marijuana. Pungoti's own toxicology results came back clean.
Mechanics inspected both the Jeep and the motorcycle and found no defect that could have caused the crash. Instead, investigators say security-camera video from a nearby smoke shop and footage from another driver's dashboard camera proved that Leighton pulled onto the highway without braking, cutting Pungoti off as he neared the intersection.
Prosecutors charged Leighton, now 17, on Sept. 1 with one count of DUI manslaughter, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He spent one day in the Palm Beach County Jail before posting $100,000 bail and does not yet have an attorney listed.
Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. Reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Teen tells police his 'life is over' after Boca crash that killed biker
