INDIANTOWN, FLORIDA — A 31-year-old West Palm Beach man was killed Wednesday night, November 5, when his Subaru struck a semi-trailer that was backing across all lanes of SW Warfield Boulevard in Martin County. The truck driver’s commercial driver’s license was issued in Queens, New York, less than a month earlier.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash happened at 20359 Warfield Boulevard. A semi-truck was backing south across all lanes when it entered the path of an eastbound 2026 Subaru Outback in the inside lane. The front of the Subaru hit the left rear of the trailer. The Subaru’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
What the Driver Told Deputies
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said the truck driver told deputies he passed the newer section of Fox Brown Road and turned onto an old section that does not go through. Budensiek said that instead of calling for help or getting a flagger, the driver backed out and blocked both lanes of the narrow road.
The driver is 56 and from New York. He has not been identified. Budensiek said he is not from the United States, speaks English with deputies, and his native language is Mandarin. “So he’s not here illegally, that we’re aware of,” Budensiek said. “He comes to Florida, and then, instead of following traffic laws, puts his truck in a position that cost somebody else their lives.”
The driver stayed at the scene and was interviewed but was not taken into custody. FHP’s traffic homicide unit is leading the investigation, and Budensiek said FHP has 90 days to finish its findings and decide next steps. FHP said it will release more, including on the driver’s legal status, after talking with the State Attorney’s Office.
A Near Miss and a Family’s Loss
Dashcam video from a separate car carrying a family shows the driver slamming on the brakes on the dark road to avoid hitting the truck. A glimpse of the video shows the Subaru smashed and wedged under the truck with its hazards on.
Budensiek said the victim’s wife received a crash notification on her phone linked to her husband’s iPhone. She drove from Palm Beach County to the scene, where a Martin County Sheriff’s Office chaplain told her he had died.
The road was closed for about six hours. It was the fifth traffic death on SW Warfield Boulevard in 2026. Budensiek said the Florida Department of Transportation plans to widen the road, but construction is not expected to start until 2028.
The crash echoes an August 2025 case on the Treasure Coast, in which Harjinder Singh was arrested after an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Pierce, where his tractor-trailer stretched across all northbound lanes and a minivan crashed into it, killing three people. Singh has pleaded not guilty to three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of manslaughter.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Information courtesy of CBS12.
📸 Dashcam video courtesy of CBS12. Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
