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CRIME

Teen charged as adult in Palm Beach Gardens vehicle crash that killed four

Julius Whigham II
Palm Beach Post

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PALM BEACH GARDENS — The 17-year-old driver in the July 30 crash that killed four people in Palm Beach Gardens was under the influence of drugs as he sped through a red light at nearly 100 mph, according to his Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest report. 

Christopher Garrett, 17, of suburban West Palm Beach is being charged as an adult with four counts each of vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter and driving without a license causing death. He remained in the Palm Beach County Jail late Tuesday after a judge set his bail at $510,000.

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Investigators say Garrett was driving a Nissan Rogue SUV that afternoon when he ran a red light at Beeline Highway and PGA Boulevard. The SUV collided with a 2010 Nissan XTerra that was turning left onto the Beeline from PGA, PBSO said. 

Jay'Oni Leonard, 14, and Alexia Simpson, 17, both passengers in the Rogue, died in the wreck, along with the XTerra's driver, Elizabeth Anderson, 62, and her passenger, George Nienhouse, 65. Paramedics took Garrett to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach. 

Anderson was a warrants specialist for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for 25 years, the agency said. Public records showed Nienhouse worked as a stone mason for Miotto 2000 Tile & Marble Works in West Palm Beach, and recently worked with his son at H2O Plus Irrigation Services.

Garrett, Leonard and Simpson all were living in foster homes in the West Palm Beach area, Larry Rein, president and chief executive officer of the placement agency ChildNet, told The Palm Beach Post in July. The teenagers did not live together, he said.

According to a PBSO arrest report, toxicology results from blood draws taken at the hospital showed Garrett was under the influence of Delta 9 THC, a psychoactive form of cannabinoid banned in Florida.

A mathematical reconstruction of the crash showed that Garrett's Rogue was traveling at a minimum of 98 mph at the time of the collision, while the XTerra was traveling at 8 mph, PBSO said.

Data collected from the Rogue's airbag control module showed that the SUV reached speeds in excess of 100 mph prior to the crash.

PBSO said the SUV had been reported stolen from the Rapids Water Park in Riviera Beach. West Palm Beach police spotted the vehicle and tried to pull it over, but stopped chasing it as it approached the intersection of the Beeline and Northlake Boulevard.

A witness told investigators the vehicle sped through a red light at PGA Boulevard without attempting to brake. 

jwhigham@pbpost.com

@JuliusWhigham