Two hurt in crash after deputy runs stop sign
DELRAY BEACH — An 18-yearold college student is in a coma after an off-duty Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s deputy ran a stop sign Sunday and struck the car in which she was riding, her family and Delray Beach police confirmed Thursday.
Farrah Fox and Dylan De Giuseppe, 20, who both live west of Boca Raton, were injured at about 5 p.m. when a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado pickup driven by Michael D’Avanzo struck their Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, according to Delray Beach police.
A spokesman for Delray Medical Center said Thursday that Fox is in critical condition and De Giuseppe is in fair condition.
Fox, who graduated from West Boca Raton High, just finished her freshman year at the University of Central Florida and plans to be an aeronautics engineer, her mother, Marla Fox, said Thursday.
“She’s amazing,” Marla Fox sobbed. “She’s going to be written in the history books one day.”
De Giuseppe’s father, Michael, said Thursday he did not want to comment or provide information about his son.
De Giuseppe, who is the best friend of Farrah Fox’s boyfriend, was driving her to work at the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream parlor on East Atlantic Avenue, Marla Fox said. Shop owner Eric Taylor said Thursday the teen had worked for him for about two years and continues to work during breaks from school.
D’Avanzo, 25, joined PBSO in January 2017 and is a road-patrol deputy, the Sheriff ’s Office said Thursday. He remains on active duty.
The wreck occurred about three blocks northeast of the corner of Swinton and Atlantic avenues.
The SUV was traveling east on Northeast Third Street when the pickup, northbound, ran the stop sign at Northeast First Avenue, police said.
Six passengers were in D’Avanzo’s pickup, Delray Beach police spokeswoman Dani Moschella said. She said the deputy and two others were treated for minor injuries and that two others were taken to Delray Medical for minor injuries and then released.
All seven people were in the pickup’s cab, Moschella said. She did not know where the truck was headed.
Police have not filed any charges as they investigate the crash.
They have not said if they suspect either alcohol or drugs played a role in the wreck or if officers administered tests to anyone, Moschella said. She also could not say the speed of either vehicle.