A Sunday night crash in unincorporated Broward County spiraled from fender bender to fatal confrontation, leaving 50-year-old Humphrey Willoughby dead and a 5-year-old boy without his father, relatives said.
Family members said Willoughby was involved in a hit-and-run collision that quickly turned into a fight. He was rushed to a hospital after the altercation and later died there. Deputies arrested 57-year-old Wayne Brutton the following day and booked him on a manslaughter charge, according to authorities. Relatives said Willoughby leaves behind a 5-year-old son.
What deputies say
The Broward Sheriff’s Office reports that deputies and Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue responded shortly after 8:30 p.m. to the area of the 300 block of Northwest 29th Terrace. According to the agency, witnesses stopped Willoughby’s vehicle after the initial crash.
BSO spokeswoman Claudinne Caro-Guaraldi wrote that Willoughby struck Brutton’s vehicle as Brutton was preparing to back into a driveway, then drove off from the scene. Brutton, investigators say, chased after him on foot, and a physical confrontation followed. The sheriff’s office reports that Willoughby was taken to a hospital, where he later died, and that Brutton was arrested and booked into the county jail, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Charges and booking
As reported by Local 10, Brutton, 57, was being held at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale on a manslaughter charge. Broward County Circuit Judge Frank Ledee was set to preside over the case, according to the outlet.
Detectives have asked anyone who saw the confrontation to contact Homicide Detective Louis Bonhomme at 954-321-4377, the report states. Formal court filings and details on Brutton’s initial appearance were not immediately available to reporters.
Legal context
Under Florida law, manslaughter is defined in Florida Statutes §782.07 and is generally prosecuted as a second-degree felony. In a case like this, that charge can sit alongside separate traffic-related counts.
Florida’s crash statutes, along with the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act, impose stiff penalties for leaving the scene of a crash that results in serious injury or death. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles outlines mandatory minimum sentences and enhanced penalties when a hit-and-run is fatal. Prosecutors can pursue multiple counts depending on what investigators and medical examiners ultimately document about the crash and the fight that followed.
How to help
Investigators are urging anyone who witnessed either the initial crash or the subsequent altercation to contact the Broward Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit. The sheriff’s office lists Homicide Detective Louis Bonhomme at 954-321-4377 for tips.
For those who prefer to remain anonymous, tips can be submitted through Broward Crime Stoppers or via BSO’s SaferWatch resources, according to the sheriff’s office.
