A 26-year-old West Palm Beach man is facing manslaughter and other charges after allegedly driving the wrong way on Interstate 95 while impaired early Sunday, a crash that killed one driver and seriously injured another.
Florida Highway Patrol investigators said Edwin Castro was driving a blue 2021 GMC Sierra pickup southbound in the northbound lanes near 45th Street and Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard shortly before 5:30 a.m. Witnesses, including a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, saw the truck going about 60 to 65 mph and weaving across the roadway. The deputy followed from across the median until he lost sight of the truck near Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard.
Moments later, the pickup struck a 2019 Dodge Caravan head-on. The minivan driver, 68-year-old Angelo George Genova of West Palm Beach, was pronounced dead at the scene. The minivan then swerved and hit the back of a 2001 Cadillac Eldorado driven by Robert Harold Bradio, 72, of Delray Beach. Bradio suffered a lacerated aorta and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Castro was found behind the wheel with airbags deployed. Deputies and troopers reported smelling alcohol and seeing bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. Hospital toxicology testing showed a blood alcohol level of .239, according to the arrest report.
Castro was charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, DUI causing serious bodily injury and reckless driving counts, and was cited for driving the wrong way on the interstate. He is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail on no bond and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 19. The arrest report also says he has a final deportation order following a denied asylum claim from Guatemala.
