In South Florida, the recovery of a body in an automobile accident is made a little more complex with the volume of water in our state. Rather than scan the immediate roadway for a person, authorities also need to consider that an individual may have ended up in a lake or canal.
The latter is the unfortunate reality of what happened to 20-year-old Raymundo Santiago on the afternoon of August 21. The young man was located in a canal near Okeechobee Boulevard and Royal Palm Beach.
First responders found him as they were searching for the 2008 Mazda 3 that Santiago drove. Santiago was heading south before his car tilted before plunging into the canal.
Santiago was declared dead at the scene as the Mazda was being extracted from the water.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the circumstances of the matter. It is unclear whether Santiago was influenced by outside substances in any way, or whether there was a technical malfunction with the vehicle.
Reports do not indicate that a second car was involved in the accident that took Santiago’s life. The young man’s family and close friends will wait for details to come out regarding what went wrong that day.
Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath stands ready to assist anyone who is negatively impacted by a car accident in our area. We can be contacted at (561) 655-1990.
