PALM BEACH GARDENS — A judge has set bail for a 29-year-old man accused of vehicular homicide in a fatal traffic crashthat occurred last month in Palm Beach Gardens.
Akash Das made his made his first court appearance on Thursday, Aug. 6, one day after Palm Beach Gardens police arrested him in the death of 81-year-old Gary Neal Fields. During a court hearing at the Palm Beach County Jail, Circuit Judge Donald Hafele set Das' bail at $125,000 and ordered that he be placed on in-house arrest upon his release.
Jail records showed that he remained in custody as of the morning of Aug. 7.
Police investigators say Das was speeding shortly before 9 a.m. on July 9 when his Cadillac SUV collided with Fields' Audi sedan at the intersection of Central Boulevard
and Victoria Falls Boulevard.
Das reached speeds up to 100 mph in a 45 mph zone, showing "willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others," said investigators who made that determination by analyzing data from the Cadillac's airbag control.
Court and jail records show that Das has homes in Palm Beach Gardens, and on Staten Island in New York City.
Defense attorney Adam Farkas, who represented Das in court, said Das is currently living in South Florida to complete an internship with a company that specializes in AI. He said that Das works in the field of AI and engineering and is seeking to return to New York to finish his pursuit of a Master's degree from Columbia University.
Farkas did not respond to the speeding allegation, but said there was no evidence that Das' actions were intentional.
"He's charged with negligent vehicular homicide, meaning that there was no intent at all," Farkas said. "He comes from a very good family, he's never been in trouble before and hopefully we can put this all behind him. It was a tragic accident that occurred."
A police arrest report made public Aug. 6 indicates that four vehicles were involved in the fatal crash, including a 2024 black Cadillac Lyriq SUV driven by Das.
According to the arrest report, Das drove north on Central and while traveling through a construction zone when he moved into the right lane, accelerated, then switched back into the left lane and passed two vehicles. As Das approached the intersection at Victoria Falls, Fields exited a nearby residential apartment complex, crossing Central Boulevard eastbound.
Investigators say Das' Cadillac crashed into the right rear door of Fields' Audi, causing the Audi to crash into a Nissan SUV that was sitting at a stop sign. The Nissan then collided with a Volvo SUV that was traveling west on Victoria Falls. According to the arrest report, arriving police officers found Fields unresponsive behind the wheel. They attempted life-saving measures until paramedics arrived.
Fields was taken to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, where he died. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that he died from blunt force trauma.
Investigators say Das and the Nissan's driver had injuries that were not life-threatening. The Volvo driver was not hurt.
Julius Whigham II covers northern Palm Beach County and public safety for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Driver in high-speed, fatal car wreck in Palm Beach Gardens gets bail
