PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — An 18-year-old Palm Beach County man will remain in secure detention for at least three weeks after authorities said he was speeding 151 miles per hour and rear-ended a vehicle in January, killing all six people inside.
Noah Galle appeared via Zoom from the Palm Beach County Juvenile Detention Center on Thursday for a hearing in the case.
Galle was arrested Wednesday on six counts of vehicular homicide for the deadly and tragic Jan. 27 wreck.
A judge on Thursday ordered Galle to remain in secure detention until at least April 27, not have any contact with the families of the victims, and not operate any motor vehicles.
Even though Galle recently turned 18 — classifying him as an adult — the fatal wreck happened when he was still 17. As a result, he's currently being held in the Juvenile Detention Center.
However, Galle's defense attorney, Elizabeth Parker, said the case will eventually be transferred to adult court.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Galle was driving a 2019 BMW M5 "at a high rate of speed" around 11 p.m. in the 14000 block of U.S. Highway 441. He rear-ended a 2018 Nissan Rogue that had six people inside.
The impact caused the Rogue to head into a grass and dirt median where it flipped and rolled over before landing upside-down in the median.
PBSO said five people inside the Nissan Rogue were pronounced dead at the scene, while a sixth was taken to Delray Medical Center and passed away.
Parker on Thursday said Galle has had a "very difficult time" dealing with the tragedy and has had suicidal thoughts.
"We received a call today — or Noah's mom did — from the [Juvenile Detention Center], and they expressed concerns that Noah is suicidal," Parker said.
Parker added that Galle has been on psychiatric medication since he was 12.
"Beginning the night of the accident at the hospital, the doctors at the hospital made some significant findings that he had some unusual medical conditions that we believe contributed to this accident," Parker said.
The defense attorney didn't mention what those medical conditions are, but said Galle has upcoming appointments with cardiology and neurology doctors.
Assistant State Attorney Jean Francis said Thursday that Galle has had a history of speeding.
"The probable cause affidavit indicates that this is not the only time that this has happened," Francis said. "This youth was previously driving approximately 180 miles an hour on a roadway in Palm Beach County."
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said the six victims were all local farmworkers who had just left work before they were hit on the night of Jan. 27. There were "no marks of any braking" on Galle's part, the sheriff's office said.
Galle suffered minor injuries in the crash.
The sheriff's office said toxicology tests did not show any drugs or alcohol in Galle's system at the time of the wreck.
