72-year-old man killed in hit-and-run was retired teacher
PALM BEACH GARDENS — The 72-year-old man killed Friday night in a hit-and-run crash was a Palm Beach County School District teacher for 13 years, according to a district spokeswoman.
Patrick Michael Meehan of Palm Beach Gardens died as a result of the crash, which occurred at about 11:45 Friday night in front of the Garden Square Shoppes at Military Trail and PGA Boulevard.
Meehan was a teacher at Palm Beach Gardens High School from 2004 until 2017, when he retired. He taught English from 2004 until 2012, then English as a Second Language, or ESOL, from 2012 to 2017, according to a district spokeswoman.
Palm Beach Gardens High School Principal Larry Clawson said Meehan was a good guy who truly cared about his students. He said Meehan often requested to work with ESOL students and that they were comfortable around him.
“He worked really well with our ESOL students. They were able to build a rapport with him,” Clawson said.
When Meehan retired in 2017, he probably got a rocking chair with a small Gator plaque, the tradition for retiring teachers from the school, Clawson said.
Ramon Gonzalez-Pabon, a 51-year-old Boynton Beach resident, was arrested Saturday for failing to stop at the scene of a fatal crash. He turned himself in several hours after the incident.
Gonzalez-Pabon told investigators that he was looking toward the left-turn lanes from southbound Military onto eastbound PGA when he suddenly saw Meehan.
He told officers that he had “approximately half a second to react and was unable to do anything,” according to an arrest report released Monday. The report does not say how fast Gonzalez-Pabon was traveling.
After crashing into Meehan with the front right of his Dodge Durango, Gonzalez-Pabon got out of his car and picked up a piece of his car’s wheel well.
He told officers he saw Meehan lying in the street and said he panicked and got back into his car, according to the report. Meehan was reported dead at the scene.
Afterward, Gonzalez-Pabon called his brother and told him he hit somebody, but the brother thought he was joking. The next day, his brother called again and asked if he was serious and the two agreed to go to the police, according to the report.
Gonzalez-Pabon said he was heading back from dinner at his brother’s Jupiter home, where he drank two Corona beers, finishing the last one at about 8:30 p.m. and then leaving at about 11:30 p.m., according to police.
The police report does not say whether blood-alcohol tests were done on Gonzalez Pabon.