A 35-year-old Palm Beach County man is facing four traffic citations, including an accusation of driving under the influence, after deputies say he blew past 96 mph in a posted 35 mph zone early Monday morning near Wallis Road and North Military Trail. Ramon Guzman has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due back in court next month.
According to the WPEC report, first published by reporter Justin Backer, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says Guzman committed several traffic violations in the early hours of Monday morning, including driving 96 mph on Wallis Road near Sandra Lane — a stretch posted at 35 mph. Deputies allege Guzman exceeded the speed limit by 61 mph, performed a burnout, and raced on the highway near Wallis Road and North Military Trail. He was also cited for DUI after a citation alleges he refused to submit to a breath-alcohol test.
Guzman was released on a $2,500 bond following his arrest and is scheduled for a required court appearance on September 17, 2026, at the Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Complex, per the same report.
Florida's Tougher Speeding Law Now In Play
The 96 mph citation lands squarely under a newer, harsher slice of Florida law. Under Florida Statute § 316.1922, which took effect July 1, 2025, driving 50 mph or more over the posted limit is now classified as a standalone criminal offense known as dangerous excessive speeding, according to The Brancato Law Firm. A first offense carries up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine — a notable shift from the pre-2025 standard, when extreme speeding alone was typically treated as a civil infraction unless prosecutors could prove reckless intent.
Separately, Florida Statute § 318.14(13) mandates a $1,000 fine for any driver cited for exceeding the posted limit by 50 mph or more on a first violation, a penalty that requires a mandatory court appearance and cannot be resolved online or by mail, according to the Florida Super Speeder Lawyer firm. A repeat violation under that statute would trigger a $2,500 fine and a mandatory one-year license suspension.
Burnout and Racing Citations Carry Their Own Penalties
The burnout and racing allegations fall under Florida Statute § 316.191, updated in 2024 to criminalize burnouts, stunt driving, and highway racing on public roads as a first-degree misdemeanor. Per Ticket Fighter, a first conviction carries fines between $500 and $1,000, vehicle impoundment for up to 30 days, and a mandatory one-year driver's license revocation. The law was expanded to reach not just drivers but street takeovers and even spectator participation.
Guzman's alleged refusal to take a breath-alcohol test also now carries heavier consequences than it once did. Florida's Trenton's Law, House Bill 687, took effect October 1, 2025, and makes refusing a breath, blood, or urine test during a first DUI arrest a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail, on top of an automatic one-year administrative license suspension, according to the Rossen Law Firm. Drivers who refuse a breath test have a strict 10-day window from the date of arrest to request a formal hearing with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to challenge that suspension or seek a hardship license, per Difilippo & Pica, PLLC — otherwise the year-long suspension becomes automatic regardless of how the criminal case turns out.
If Guzman is ultimately convicted of DUI, Florida Statute § 316.193 sets baseline penalties of a $500 to $1,000 fine, up to six months in jail, 50 hours of mandatory community service, a 180-day license suspension, and 12 months of probation, according to the Jeff T. Gorman Law Offices. Florida law also prohibits judges from withholding adjudication on DUI charges, meaning a conviction stays permanently on a driver's record.
A Corridor With a History of Danger
The stretch of North Military Trail near where the citations were issued has a well-documented history of severe crashes. The corridor contains six of Palm Beach County's ten most crash-prone intersections as of 2024, according to ThatCarHitMe.com, with the intersection of North Military Trail and Okeechobee Boulevard alone recording 119 crashes that year. Countywide, Palm Beach County logged 25,349 total motor vehicle crashes in 2025, or nearly 70 per day, according to preliminary state data cited by Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers — a 4.5% drop from the 26,550 crashes recorded in 2024.
Those crashes resulted in 144 fatal collisions and 156 deaths across the county in 2025, with state traffic safety officials pointing to excessive speed and impaired driving as primary contributing factors, per the same report. Fatal crashes in the county actually fell by nearly a quarter compared to 2024, when 207 traffic deaths were recorded.
The stakes of that combination were made grimly clear in January, when a driver traveling an estimated 104 mph swerved and struck a concrete utility pole on South Military Trail in West Palm Beach, killing an 8-year-old child and leading to DUI manslaughter charges, according to the Boca Raton Tribune. The vehicle in that crash burst into flames on impact. Hoodline reported on that boozy Military Trail crash last month, and also covered a separate case in January involving a Palm Beach Gardens man accused of DUI after allegedly driving 100 mph.
Guzman's case remains open, with prosecutors yet to indicate whether they will pursue a formal dangerous excessive speeding charge under § 316.1922 in addition to the misdemeanor DUI and racing citations already on the books. That question, along with how the court handles the stack of violations, is expected to come into focus at Guzman's September 17 hearing.
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