DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — The Delray Beach Police Department released body camera video Wednesday showing the aftermath of a crash involving an off-duty Palm Beach County deputy who investigators said ran a stop sign and crashed into a car, critically injuring a teenager who ended up in a coma.
WATCH BODY CAMERA VIDEO:
Michael D'Avanzo was ticketed for speeding and running a stop sign,and is scheduled to go on trial on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
Investigators said D'Avanzo was off-duty and driving 53 mph in a 25 mph zone in Delray Beach on July 15, 2018, when his pickup ran a stop sign and smashed into a vehicle carrying 18-year-old Farrah Fox.
The police body camera video released Wednesday shows both vehicles smashed up, and blood on D'Avanzo's hands and arms.
"I'm a 10-37 man, sheriff's office." It's one of the first things a visibly shaken D'Avanzo says to an arriving Delray Beach police office. It means he's an off duty deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
"I was coming north. I ran a stop sign," D'Avanzo admitted in the video. "I never thought this would happen in my entire life. This is a brand new (EXPLETIVE) truck, man."
Fox, a University of Central Florida student, was comatose for a month.
On the body camera video, you can see the front end of D'Avanzo's truck completely caved and mangled after the crash.
The car Fox and a friend were in when they were hit can't be seen from the intersection. It's mangled in a tree next to a nearby home.
You can hear D'Avanzo tell police that he was going the speed limit. Investigators say D'Avanzo was going 53 in a 25 mph zone when he ran the stop sign.
"I'm not okay right now," D'Avanzo tells the officer when he tries talking to him. "My life is over man. All I had to do was stop. I didn't see the f****** stop sign."
Then sobbing he says, "I'm so sorry."
Fox's family told WPTV the crash left her with a brain injury. She was in a coma for a month and is learning how to walk and talk all over again. According to a state attorney report, a passenger in D'Avanzo's truck told investigators they had been out for mimosas on Atlantic Avenue before the crash.
Two officers did discuss whether D'Avanzo might have been drinking on the body camera, but said they didn't "smell any alcohol on his breath." "I've been smelling for it because he's been screaming he's a 10-37 45 times. But I don't smell it at all, or see it in the car," says one officer.
According to records, another officer did smell "a faint odor of an alcoholic beverage at various times coming from his breath," but said he did not believe D'Avanzo was impaired.
When an officer asked D'Avanzo to draw blood, the off duty officer refused, saying "there's no reason for that." Investigators say there was not enough probable cause to force one.
"All I had to do was stop at the stop sign. People are hurt, it's not okay. I see this every day," says D'Avanzo as a firefighter treats his bloody hand.
The Palm Beach County State Attorney declined to charge D'Avanzo,saying the stop sign was blocked by a low-hanging tree, and drivers traveling at or above the speed limit would not have seen it.
Contact 5 obtained from the state attorney's office, they say D'Avanzo was also interviewed "without the privilege of Miranda," meaning some statements are not allowed in court.
Police released two other body camera videos that show an officer talking to managers at Taverna Opa and Park Tavern, looking for video. The officer can be heard saying they were trying to find out if the group in D'Avanzo's car was drinking.
Two other videos from officer body cameras are completely without sound. The original body camera video has several moments where the officer turns off the sound on the camera when talking to other officers.
At a court hearing last month, Fox's father broke down while talking about his daughter.
"Farrah called up crying on Saturday, realizing that she may never be normal," said Ira Fox. "She may never be the same girl she was before the accident, and she’s fighting every day to get better."
Fox said his daughter was in the hospital for two months before beginning extensive rehabilitation.
"Until my daughter is home for good and can continue with outpatient therapy, it's just incredible uncertainty," Fox told WPTV last month.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said D'Avanzo remains on active duty.
