2 PBSO deputies dead, 1 in critical condition after Loxahatchee crash

Deputies were dealing with a PBSO motorcycle that wouldn’t start when the SUV hit them, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

(This story has been updated with new information.)

WELLINGTON — Describing it as a “terrible accident,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said two deputies were killed and a third was seriously injured in a car accident near Loxahatchee on Thursday morning.

Speaking via remote video feed from North Carolina, Bradshaw said deputies were monitoring eastbound traffic on Southern Boulevard between Seminole Pratt Whitney Road when a mechanical problem caused one of the deputies’ motorcycles to stall. The deputy then called his two colleagues to help move the bicycle to a grassy area on the side of the road.

Deputies were waiting for a fourth deputy to fetch jumper cables when a woman driving east on Southern swerved off the road to avoid hitting a car in front of her, which began to slow down.

Bradshaw said the woman hit all three deputies with her SUV. The impact lifted each deputy into the air and was thrown in different directions.

The Florida Highway Patrol will lead the investigation, said FHP spokeswoman Lt. Indiana Miranda. Miranda said FHP investigators were still working to gather information Thursday afternoon.

PBSO identified the fallen deputies as Cpl. Luis Paez, a 36-year veteran of the agency, and Deputy Ralph “Butch” Waller, a former Royal Palm Beach police officer who joined PBSO when the police department merged with the sheriff’s office in 2008.

Deputy Ignacio “Dan” Diaz, a 20-year PBSO veteran and a member of the motor unit for 10 years, remained in critical condition Thursday evening, sheriff’s spokeswoman Teri Barbera said.

Paez began his career with PBSO as an inmate deputy, then moved to highway patrol and later to the motor unit, where he served for more than 20 years.

PBSO has not identified the driver of the SUV, who Bradshaw said suffered minor injuries. Florida Highway Patrol investigators identified the driver as a 31-year-old woman from Pennsylvania. According to the agency, the accident occurred just before 9:30.

“I tell people all the time that law enforcement, public safety and the military are the only jobs, and when you leave your house and kiss your family goodbye, it might be the last time,” said Bradshaw, who appeared emotional throughout the news conference. “When an MP dies, part of the community dies with him. It’s difficult.”

The Palm Beach County Fire Department took all three deputies to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, a Level 1 trauma center. Diaz underwent surgery and has been in intensive care since Thursday afternoon.

“I hope he makes it,” Bradshaw said.

Bradshaw said the speed limit south in that area is 55 mph. The damage is consistent with a vehicle traveling at that speed, but investigators will determine how fast the woman was driving.

The crash closed Southern Boulevard, the county’s main east-west highway, to traffic in both directions for several hours while deputies investigated the scene.

The procession honoring the fallen deputies began around 2 p.m. and was led by a motorcycle escort of law enforcement vehicles as the deputies’ bodies were transported from St. Mary’s to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s office in suburban West Palm Beach.

Members of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, West Palm Beach Police Department, Palm Beach County Fire Department, Florida Highway Patrol and numerous other police officers participated in the procession. Local sheriff’s agencies, including the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, posted tributes online along with state politicians including U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.

The fatal crash comes nearly 17 years to the day after sheriff’s deputies Jonathan Wallace and Donta Manuel were killed while trying to stop a speeding driver in The Glades.

On November 28, 2007, several deputies were pursuing a carjacking suspect on State Route 715 near the Pahokee airport when Wallace and Manuel installed “stop stick” tire deflation devices designed to slow or stop drivers.

They are one of five MPs in the history of PBSO who were hit and killed by vehicles while performing their duties.

The others are:

In April 1981, Richard Landes was hit while helping to pull a car out of a canal.
Kevin Matthews was hit by a limousine in March 1992 while driving in a convoy escorting a presidential candidate.
Anita Pospisil, just weeks after Matthews, when her police car was hit by a truck that ran a red light.

Staff writer Holly Baltz contributed to this story.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be contacted at [email protected] and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Sign up today.