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Driver arrested on DUI manslaughter charges: Crash killed 2 high school students waiting at bus stop

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday the arrest of Angel Antonio Lopez, 57, of Royal Palm Beach. Lopez is facing multiple charges, including two counts of DUI manslaughter, after being arrested in a crash where he drove his car onto a curb and hit four high school students who were waiting for a school bus. Two of the students died, and two are recovering.

(Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office)

South Florida Sun-Sentinel  (April 6, 2022) After the death of two Royal Palm Beach Community High School students, the man accused of driving under the influence and up onto a sidewalk, slamming into a group of teenagers who were waiting for their school bus, has been arrested.

Angel Antonio Lopez, 57, of Royal Palm Beach, is facing two counts of DUI manslaughter, two counts of vehicular homicide, one count of driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury, one count of driving under the influence causing property damage or injury, reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, and reckless driving causing injury to person or property.

Tiana Johnson, 15, Chand Wazir, 15, and two other students — a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy — were waiting at their bus stop shortly before 7 a.m. March 22 on the corner of Crestwood Boulevard and Cypress Lakes Drive. The students were heading back to school on the first day after Spring Break, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Major Talal Masri said at a news conference Wednesday.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel is not naming the two surviving minors, who were seriously injured but are expected to recover.

Lopez, driving a 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio north on Crestwood Boulevard, lost control and drove into the students on the sidewalk. Johnson died the morning after the crash at St. Mary’s Medical Center and Wazir died at the same hospital days later.

Masri said Lopez’s toxicology results showed he had over four times the legal limit of a prescription medicine in his system at the time of the crash, and the first officers to interact with him at the scene that day noticed slurred speech and signs of impairment.

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Jonathan Blecher

Jonathan Blecher

Licensed to practice since 1982, Jonathan Blecher has defended over 5000 DUI and suspended driver license cases. A former Assistant State Attorney under Janet Reno, Jonathan later developed his interest and skills in DUI defense working under DUI legend Richard Essen, a founding member of the National College for DUI Defense. A member of the College himself, Jonathan has lectured on DUI topics at seminars, civic and business groups, as well as at the Miami-Dade County Police academy in courtroom procedure for police cadets. Jonathan is AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, a Florida DUI SuperLawyer, and is authorized to appear before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeal, the U.S. District Court for Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

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