PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla — A driver fled from police and caused a pile-up on Lantana Road and Congress Avenue that ended in a fatality around 10:00 p.m. last night according to a report.
Raekwon Johnson was fleeing southbound on Congress Ave. from Atlantis Police after running a red light, according to a police report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
A second vehicle, driven by Sacha Rukin, was going eastbound on Lantana Rd., entering the intersection at Congress Ave.
The report states Johnson drove through the intersection and ran a red light, which caused the front of his car to run into Rukin's left front door.
Rukin's car was redirected southbound, rotated and struck a third car. This started a chain-reaction when the third vehicle rotated clockwise and the front of their vehicle hit a fourth car. The third vehicle was projected backwards and hit a fifth vehicle that hit a sixth vehicle.
Rukin's vehicle came to a rest, straddling the northbound turn lane. Johnson's car was redirected southeast and came to a rest upon the crosswalk.
Johnson then fled the scene, but was apprehended by Atlantis Police. A total of 10 people were involved in the pile-up. Rukin's injuries were fatal.
WPTV's Todd Wilson spoke to one of the people involved in the crash, Wilmar Sanchez, who was sitting in a car with his wife and children at the intersection of Lantana Rd. and South Congress Ave. Their car was struck by Rukin's car.
"I held onto the steering wheel, braced myself and closed my eyes while I waited for the impact," he said.
In a video of the accident scene from Sanchez, the jaws of life are being used to cut the roof off Rukin's car.
Sanchez says he tried to help Rukin.
"I opened her passenger door, and I couldn’t see her because of the airbags but I crouched down to get a better view, and I could see that her arm was broken, and the bone was protruding out of her wrist," he said. "Seeing that made me queasy but this all happened within about a minute."
WPTV spoke with Rukin's ex-husband by phone. He said that night they went out to eat and went their separate ways. He said she went to babysit their granddaughter and when their daughter came home, she left. A few minutes later is when the accident happened.
Authorities say alcohol was involved in this fatal crash with Johnson.
