A professional poker player charged in a fatal crash on Interstate 95 in Broward County told investigators he had eaten a marijuana-laced edible before the crash, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.
Bradley Ruben, 32, has been charged with failure to remain at the scene of a crash involving death and resisting an officer without violence in the Wednesday morning crash along I-95 northbound near Oakland Park Boulevard.
Ruben appeared in bond court Thursday where prosecutors said he is a realtor and professional poker player, with career winnings of about $360,000. He was ordered held on $100,000 bond, which his defense attorney called "incredibly excessive."
According to FHP officials, a woman, Aleshandra Favre, had been involved in an earlier accident in the area and had called a tow truck and her husband, Juan Pedro Garcia, to the scene.
As Favre's car was being loaded by the tow truck, a Volkswagen GTI driven by Ruben crashed into the back of Favre's car and Garcia, the FHP report said. Garcia was rushed to North Broward Hospital, where he later died.
According to the report, the tow truck driver said Ruben stayed at the scene for a few moments before he ran away. When a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy found him about a quarter mile south of the scene, Ruben became irate and combative and was placed in handcuffs after a brief struggle, the report said.
After he was taken into custody, Ruben admitted to investigators that he had consumed a marijuana-laced edible before the crash and said the edible "affected him," the report said. Ruben wasn't charged with DUI but had blood drawn after the crash, the report said.
In arguing for a lower bond in court Thursday, Ruben's attorney said it was "not a typical fleeing case," and argued that Ruben had only gone about a quarter of a mile and was sitting on a railing when authorities arrived.
