DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — An independent investigation found 10 Delray Beach Fire Rescue employees had suspended licenses during their employment, but the agency didn’t identify the issue until January 2025 because staff focused only on the “current status” of an employee’s license during a review.
The six-page document, written by an attorney at Johnson Jackson PLLC, said the review process for reporting driver’s licenses at Delray Beach Fire Rescue was inadequate and had significant gaps.
BELOW: An EXCLUSIVE look at the fire department's review of employee driving record histories
According to the report, at least one employee, David Wyatt, operated city vehicles during the time of his license suspension from August 2023 to December 2023. The report also identified four other employees with suspended licenses who are required or believe it important to have a valid driver’s license as part of their job.
Wyatt, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, was driving the fire truck when it hit the Brightline Train. The sheriff’s office said Wyatt was operating the truck at the time with a valid license and was charged with a traffic citation.
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Letters WPTV obtained from a public records request to Delray Beach Fire Rescue show two employees, Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Green and Division Chief Todd Lynch, were placed on administrative leave related to the investigation into driver’s licenses.
The independent investigation found Green was not responsible for handling the review of driver’s licenses. Instead, the report said the responsibility was managed by Chief Greg Giaccone. The report said Giaccone delegated the responsibility to Todd Lynch in 2024.
According to the report, Lynch told investigators he was not instructed to look at the history of an individual’s driver’s license but rather just the current status of a license. He also said he had not been trained on how to conduct a review, which involved a 400-page PDF file.
“Because the history of the suspensions were not on the same page as the section of the top of the report that showed the current status of the driver’s license and because Chief Lynch was never instructed or trained to look beyond the current status he did not become aware of the prior suspensions until January 2025,” Attorney Erin Jackson wrote in the report.
The investigator said Green acknowledged the system relied on an annual report, which might not reflect current license statuses if changes occurred after the report was generated. The report said Green said the process should be re-evaluated to address a delay in receiving up-to-date information and to ensure that personnel report a suspended license to the chain of command.
Assistant Fire Chief Green told WPTV he retired from the department Tuesday after handing in his two-week notice. Lynch told WPTV he was reinstated to the department Tuesday.
Lynch said his suspension was “humiliating and embarrassing” in a Facebook post shared by the union representing fire rescue employees on Monday. He expressed frustration at being named as a suspended employee by the agency in a Facebook post.
“This impugned my character and compounded confusion and embarrassment I was already feeling. I also was unable to publicly defend myself because I was ordered to not discuss the acts or circumstances related to my work status with any City employees,” Lynch wrote.
Mayor Tom Carney told WPTV he couldn’t comment on the investigation. But, the city of Delray Beach said the report identified procedural and policy issues rather than evidence of willful, wanton, or malicious intent by any personnel to violate city or fire rescue policies in a press release.
“While this investigation identified areas where administrative processes could be improved, it also reaffirmed that our personnel acted in good faith,” City Manager Terrence Moore said in a press release. “Moving forward, we will take proactive steps to strengthen our policies and oversight to prevent similar issues in the future.”
Emails WPTV uncovered show Fire Chief Ronald Martin gave new "general orders" five days after the crash. The first new requirement is forcing employees, who had a change in their driver’s license status, to report it through the chain of command to the deputy fire chief. He also directed every staff member to perform a driver's license check and provide the results to the fire rescue administration staff.
The city said the other independent investigation into the actual crash is also still underway. The city’s police department is conducting an internal review into its past handling of a traffic stop with the driver of the fire truck.
