Man sentenced to 12 years in west Boca DUI crash

A Boca Raton man was sentenced Friday to 12 years in prison and a permanent revocation of his driver’s license in a 2021 crash that killed a 21-year-old passenger in his car.

Christopher Gallon, 27, was found guilty of DUI manslaughter, DUI causing property damage or injury and reckless driving in December after a jury trial.

Gallon was speeding in a Toyota Corolla on Camino Del Mar near the intersection of Palm D’oro Road in west Boca Raton shortly after 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 3, 2021, with David Hernandez, of Boca Raton, and one other passenger in his car. Gallon crashed into a Nissan Rogue that was attempting to turn left at a stop sign onto Camino Del Mar, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office.

Gallon was driving at about 75 mph at the moment of the crash, while the Rogue was moving at about 15 mph, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The Rogue came to a stop in the intersection, and the driver and his passengers had only minor injuries. After impact, Gallon’s car continued onto the grass shoulder of the road and flipped over on the northside of the road, the Sheriff ’s Office said.

Hernandez was riding in the backseat and was ejected from the car. He was pronounced dead at Delray Medical Center. The other male passenger in Gallon’s car and

Gallon had minor injuries, according to the Sheriff ’s Office.

Hernandez was Gallon’s lifelong best friend, according to a motion seeking a reduced sentence filed by his defense attorney prior to his sentencing. Gallon had “significant therapeutic care” as the case was pending, his attorney wrote.

The passenger in Gallon’s car who survived, Alexis Baez-Zapata, told investigators at the scene that Gallon had called him earlier that day and said he and Hernandez were drinking mimosas at a bar in Mizner Park, where Baez-Zapata eventually met them, according to the affidavit.

Baez-Zapata told investigators that there were three empty mimosa glasses in front of Gallon when he arrived at the bar but did not see him drink after he met them, the affidavit said.

After the crash, Gallon refused to answer questions and refused when he was asked for a consensual blood draw at Delray Medical Center, the affidavit said. Investigators obtained a warrant to draw blood and determined that at 6 p.m., hours after the crash, Gallon’s blood-alcohol content was at .129, above the legal limit of .08. It also showed THC in his system.

The maximum sentence he faced was 16-and-a-half years, according to a state motion asking the judge to deny Gallon’s request to be released on bond after his trial and before sentencing.