Police: Drunken driver was going 96 mph in fatal collision
POMPANO BEACH — Aline Palla Acosta was rollerblading along a recreation path when she was struck and killed by an SUV going an estimated 96 mph, and now the driver is facing a dozen charges nearly nine months later, court records show.
Endail Thomas, 26, of Lauderdale Lakes, was speeding when he lost control of the 2007 Nissan Murano and struck Palla Acosta before hitting a tree, according to the arrest report.
The silver SUV split in half. Thomas and 37-yearold passenger Melissa Gregoire were taken to Broward Health North medical center in critical condition.
Palla Acosta, 27, died at the
scene.
Her husband was among dozens of people who gathered at the scene of the crash for an impromptu memorial service on Feb. 21. A GoFundMe account raised more than $16,000 to return her cremains to her family in Brazil.
“Aline was a joyful young woman. Anyone close to her would describe her as kind hearted and beautiful inside and out,” her obituary read. “A colorful, amusing, and passionate young woman with a future even brighter than her infectious smile. Gone but never forgotten, Aline Palla Acosta will be missed by many.”
Palla Acosta worked at the Smoothie Jungle Cafe in Fort Lauderdale since she was 19, andwas “more than just an employee,” a Facebook post read. “She was family ... our daughter. Our hearts are shattered.”
The deadly crash happened about 5:11 p.m. on Feb. 19, southwest of the Pompano Beach Airpark. Thomas was driving west in the 600 block of Northeast 10th Street where the speed limit is 35mph.
He was passing a slower car and when Thomas tried to pull in frontof the vehicle he veered off the road, said Broward Sheriff’s Office traffic homicide investigators.
When Thomas and Gregoire were well enough to be questioned about week after the crash, both said Thomas was driving. Gregoire said they had been together all day and that both had been drinking alcohol, detectives said.
Test results from blood samples taken at the hospital showed Thomas had a blood alcohol level of .17, more than twice the legal limit of .08, the report stated.
Thomas was booked into the Broward County Jail Monday on charges that include DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and reckless driving. At his first court appearance Tuesday, the judge set bonds totaling $221,000.