ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Palm Beach County man was speeding 50 mph and "impaired" on a prescription sleeping pill when he slammed into four Royal Palm Beach students at their school bus stop, killing two of them, a newly released arrest report shows.
Angel Lopez, 57, appeared in court Thursday morning on charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury, driving under the influence causing property damage or injury, and reckless driving.
A judge set Lopez's bond at $440,000 and ordered him to surrender his passport, not have any alcohol, non-prescription drugs, or illegal drugs, and not have any contact with the crash victims or the families of the deceased students.
According to a newly released arrest report, the event data recorder in Lopez's 2018 Alfa Romero Stelvio showed he was traveling 50 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone when he crashed into four students around 6:45 a.m. on March 22 at the intersection of Crestwood Boulevard South and Cypress Lake Drive.
The report said Lopez "never applied the brakes throughout the entire collision event."
The children from Royal Palm Beach Community High School were waiting for their school bus at the time of the wreck.
Two of those children, a boy and girl, both 15, died. Two others — ages 16 and 17 — are out of the hospital and recovering from their injuries.
The arrest report released Thursday also showed Lopez was "impaired on Temazepam," a sleeping pill, when he hit the students.
According to Lopez's prescription, he was prescribed to take one 30 mg capsule of Temazepam before bed. He was not to take more than that and not drive while taking the drug, the report showed.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators said Wednesday the amount of Temazepam in Lopez's bloodstream at the time of the crash was more than four times the prescribed limit.
"Toxicology was done and the results showed he was over four times the legal limit that a normal person would take for the medicine he was taking," Maj. Talal Masri said at a news conference.
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According to Lopez's arrest report, the first-responding deputy at the crash scene believed Lopez was "impaired," saying "he got out of the driver seat and stumbled around when he walked."
A PBSO investigator who later arrived at the scene said "he saw indications of impairment" in Lopez, adding that the driver "had slow movements and seemed lethargic."
According to the arrest report, Lopez told another PBSO investigator he was driving northbound on Crestwood Boulevard South, hit a curb, and "he didn't know what happened after that."
The investigator said Lopez "appeared lethargic, slow and seemed dehydrated. His pupils were constricted and his mouth was dry. He had trouble keeping his eyes open and the sunlight seemed to bother him," the arrest report stated.
Lopez "stumbled while standing and walking" and "he had trouble getting up and down losing his balance," the investigator said in the report.
A witness who saw Lopez's vehicle crashed on the northbound side of Crestwood Boulevard South and called 911 said Lopez was "stumbling around and seemed disoriented," the report said. That witness told investigators she thought Lopez might have had a head injury.
Three of the teen victims were taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach. The two 15-year-old children who would later pass away suffered "grave injuries" and "massive head trauma," the arrest report said.
A 17-year-old boy had injuries to his face and a 16-year-old boy who was taken to HCA Florida Palms West Hospital suffered a leg injury. Both are now out of the hospital.
The sheriff's office executed a search warrant on Lopez's 2018 Alfa Romero Stelvio and found 27 non-narcotic prescription pills and two brown unmarked pill bottles inside.
Investigators also collected DNA and hair samples from inside the vehicle.
According to documents obtained by WPTV Contact 5 Investigators, the sheriff's office also searched a black backpack found next to the car. Inside were a black Knox vaping pen with a brown liquid, a brown bottle labeled SUN MED with liquid inside, two white bottles labeled Tren 75 — which sells online as a legal testosterone supplement — 161 brown capsules, and a bottle of Clear Eyes eye drops.
A third search warrant was obtained by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office to search the Alfa Romero Stelvio's event data recorder, a device inside the vehicle that stores information like speed changes and the driver's actions.
Lopez was arrested on Wednesday.
Lance Ivey, an attorney for the victims, released the following statement to WPTV following Lopez's arrest:
"First and foremost, Ruth Webster and the entire family of Rondell Lawrence, wish to express their appreciation to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, the Deputies at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and to State Attorney Dave Aronberg, and his fine Assistant State Attorneys for the arrest and charges brought against the Defendant. Based upon the limited information known about the facts leading up to this gross, horrible and extremely preventable tragedy, the family has a scintilla of relief that the initiation of some sense of Justice has now begun."
WPTV contacted Lopez's attorney for a comment but has not heard back.
