Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Police solve mystery of woman struck by car
Victim was hit Dec. 31 west of Boynton
She lies in a hospital bed, brain dead and on life support. And until late Wednesday, she was at the center of a mystery.
Hit by a car on New Year’s Eve west of Boynton Beach, the pedestrian had no identification, didn’t match any missing person reports and didn’t appear to be homeless.
But the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office was able to identify her, thanks in large part to social media. The woman’s name is being withheld while investigators try to find her family.
She is not expected to survive.
Investigators had released a detailed description of the woman, who was struck shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday on El Clair Ranch Road north of Green Golf Lane — an area that’s west of South Military Trail and south
of West Boynton Beach Boulevard.
The woman was hit by the 2013 Nissan driven by a Margate man, Frank Schwartz Jr., 55, who “stopped and immediately, reported the crash and requested assistance for the pedestrian,” an investigator with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Denise Hyde, wrote in an incident report.
No charges have been filed.
The woman is being cared for at Delray Medical Center.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the woman is white, 40 to 60 years old, with brown hair and eyes. She is about 5 foot 3 inches tall and weighs about 145 pounds.
Investigators said she had been wearing gray sweat pants, a black T-shirt with a colorful design by Christian Audigier, a red Fila sweater, tan jacket, bright pink Nike sneakers and two rings.