WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A second man is now under arrest after the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said he was involved in a reckless street race that killed a 29-year-old woman in July.
Patrick Luxama, 43, of Hollywood, was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail just before 11 p.m. Tuesday on charges of vehicular homicide and racing on a highway.
The sheriff's office said Luxama and Donde Nicolas, 24, who is also under arrest in the case, were street racing northbound on Military Trail at approximately 1 a.m. on July 2.
Luxama was driving a 2020 Toyota Corolla, while Nicolas was in a 2018 Infiniti Q60S.
At the same time, a 2004 Hyundai, driven by Sophie Prudhomme, 29, was going southbound on Military Trail and made a left turn onto Belvedere Road. That's when Nicolas slammed into the Hyundai, causing it to spin out and smash into a concrete pole.
Prudhomme was taken to a local hospital, where she was tragically pronounced deceased.
Nicolas and his 17-year-old brother in the Infiniti were both taken to St. Mary's Medical Center with injuries. Luxama was not hurt.
According to Luxama's arrest report, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office analyzed the event data recorders in the Corolla and Infiniti and found they were traveling more than 100 mph in a 40 mph zone right before the crash.
A witness at a nearby gas station said he heard a loud crash that sounded "like a bomb went off." That man went to Prudhomme's Hyundai, where he found her unconscious.
A second witness at the gas station said he heard the impact and saw the vehicles "annihilated."
A third woman in the area who described herself as a "car girl" and "involved in the racing community" told PBSO investigators she heard "cars engine revving and knew based on her experience that cars were racing," the report stated.
According to Luxama's arrest report, he told sheriff's office investigators he was driving the Corolla at the time of the crash, but he claimed he was only going approximately 40 to 45 mph "when the crash occurred in front of him."
In court Wednesday, a judge set Luxama's bond at $55,000 and ordered him to have no contact with Prudhomme's family, witnesses in the case, or Nicolas. He also can't drive or have any weapons.
Prudhomme's attorney released a statement on behalf of Prudhomme's family that said she was "a nurturing mother to four beautiful children," whose death "emphasized the urgent need for improved road safety in Palm Beach County."
The statement called the arrests of Luxama and Nicolas, "significant strides toward justice … mark(ing) a pivotal step in ensuring accountability and setting a deterrent for such dangerous behaviors on our roads."
The attorney said the family is pursuing a civil suit in the case.
