A 25-year-old Palm Beach Gardens man was killed Sunday night when his car left Pratt Whitney Road in Jupiter and hit several trees. The single-vehicle crash happened as the roadway curved, and emergency crews pronounced the driver dead at the scene. Officials say the investigation is ongoing and no additional details have been released.
Crash report and timeline
According to a crash report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, as reported by WPEC, the collision happened just after 9:30 p.m. A Volkswagen Jetta driven by 25-year-old Chase Cole of Palm Beach Gardens was traveling westbound in the 1500 block of Pratt Whitney Road when, as the road curved, deputies say the car continued into the grassy shoulder and struck multiple trees. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue arrived and pronounced Cole deceased at 9:46 p.m., according to the report.
Road has seen deadly wrecks before
The Pratt Whitney corridor has been the site of other serious run-off-road crashes. A previous tragedy involved a fatal Tesla crash on Seminole Pratt Whitney Road in November 2024. That wreck and similar incidents along county roads have highlighted how trees and narrow shoulders can turn otherwise survivable crashes into deadly ones.
Where this fits in statewide numbers
Florida continues to record hundreds of traffic fatalities each year. The GHSA's analysis of federal data puts the state's 2023 toll at roughly 400 deaths. Those totals are driven in part by run-off-road and nighttime crashes, which national statistics cite as common contributors to fatal wrecks.
Investigation
The crash remains under investigation by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, which plans to release more information as it is confirmed. Anyone with information is asked to contact the agency through the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office site.
