A 54-year-old West Palm Beach man was killed Wednesday night after he was struck by a Honda Element while crossing Military Trail on foot, just north of Cherry Road. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as Miguel Yanez and said the crash happened at about 10:03 p.m.
Investigators told Boca Post that Yanez was crossing Military Trail mid-block, walking west, when he stepped into the path of the northbound SUV. The front driver's side of the Honda struck him, according to the outlet's report. The crash was also reported by WPEC / CBS12, which said Yanez was thrown over the vehicle and came to rest behind it before Palm Beach County Fire Rescue pronounced him dead at the scene.
Driver Was Not Injured, PBSO Says
The Honda's driver, a 73-year-old Wellington man, was wearing a seatbelt and was not hurt, per the same account from Boca Post. PBSO said Yanez's next of kin had been notified.
The sheriff's office did not say whether the area was lit at the time, how fast the Honda was traveling, or whether lanes were closed after the crash, the report noted. Those details remain unreleased as of this writing.
A Stretch Of Road With A Troubled History
Pedestrian deaths along Military Trail in the West Palm Beach area have been a recurring part of Boca Post's crash coverage this year, according to the outlet. In June, it reported that a pedestrian was killed in a crash at South Military Trail and Forest Hill Boulevard, and in February, a pedestrian died after being struck by a pickup truck at Military Trail and Purdy Lane.
Further south on Military Trail, near Kelmar Drive, a 65-year-old Wellington man died three days after being struck by a vehicle on Sept. 5, according to the Boca Raton Tribune. That crash involved a 2019 Kia Optima traveling northbound in the inside left lane, and the Tribune reported it remained under active investigation by the sheriff's office's Vehicle Homicide Investigation unit under Case #26092821.
Military Trail has also seen deadlier incidents involving excessive speed. A northbound Dodge Charger crash near Purdy Lane in August 2024 killed two passengers and seriously injured another, according to CBS12, which reported that the car's event data recorder showed it traveling at 90 mph five seconds before the airbag deployed.
County Project Targeted Sidewalks And Lighting Nearby
County records show officials have been working on pedestrian infrastructure in the same corridor. A Palm Beach County agenda item described a project on Cherry Road from Military Trail to Quail Drive that includes sidewalk and pedestrian-lighting improvements.
An April 2026 county agenda item recommended a retroactive 218-day contract extension for that project, with the summary attributing 194 days of the delay to decorative light poles that were ordered in April 2025 but not received until that November. The agenda item listed May 1, 2026, as the revised completion deadline for the work.
