A Sunday drive on Lantana Road turned deadly when a Lake Worth Beach woman was killed after her Nissan Sentra was struck by an oncoming BMW as she attempted a left turn across from Lantana Airport. Deputies said both vehicles left the roadway and ended up in a grassy area near the runway access road, where the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to WPBF, deputies responded around 11:05 a.m. to the 3100 block of Lantana Road and identified the victim as 52-year-old Marbelia Espinoza of Lake Worth Beach. The station reports that Espinoza’s 2014 Nissan Sentra collided with a 2020 BMW 330i after she pulled into the path of the oncoming car while turning.
What investigators say
The PBSO crash report, as summarized by Boca Post, lists the BMW driver as a 20-year-old Lake Worth woman who was not wearing a seatbelt and a 19-year-old West Palm Beach passenger who suffered minor injuries. Both outlets report that the Nissan was hit on the passenger side and that deputies notified Espinoza’s next of kin.
Investigation and safety context
PBSO’s Traffic Division is investigating the collision, and the crash report did not mark alcohol or drugs as factors, WPBF reports. Left-turn crashes are a common source of serious intersection injuries, and federal guidance says protected left-turn signals and dedicated turn lanes can cut those risks, according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Authorities listed charges as pending in the crash report, Boca Post notes, and investigators have asked anyone with information to contact PBSO’s Traffic Division as the agency continues to review the collision.
