Driver faces vehicular homicide charge after DUI crash on turnpike

Rogier Silva Mendez told the Florida Highway Patrol that he and group of friends intended to travel to a home in Deerfield Beach after visiting a bar in Miami.

Instead, Silva Mendez ended up getting onto the wrong highway, driving to the wrong county and turning in the wrong direction in the moments before a November 2023 crash that killed an unidentified passenger in his pickup, authorities said in arresting him this month on criminal charges.

Silva Mendez, 25, of Pompano Beach was taken in custody Wednesday, Feb. 25, on one count each for DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. Circuit Judge Donald Hafele set Silva Mendez’s bond at $200,000 and ordered that he be placed on in-house arrest upon his release from the county jail. He remained in custody as Friday, Feb. 27, jail records showed.

Court records show that the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office represented him in court. As a matter of policy, the office does not comment on active cases.

An FHP arrest report did not disclose the name of the person who died. It also did not specify the makes and models of the vehicles involved, beyond describing Silva Mendez’s vehicle as a two-door truck.

Investigators reported he was driving north on Florida’s Turnpike near Atlantic Avenue in suburban Delray Beach at about 4:20 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2023, when he attempted to make a U-turn and drive south in the northbound lanes.

As he attempted the U-turn, Silva Mendez’s pickup collided with another vehicle, sending both of them onto the highway’s grass shoulder. Silva Mendez and two passengers received care at Delray Medical Center for injuries of varying severities. One passenger died nearly a week later.

Silva Mendez was questioned days after the crash when he returned to the hospital for follow-up treatment. Medical records showed he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.

He reportedly told investigators two friends met him at a bar in Miami where they stayed until about 2 a.m. According to the report, Silva Mendez said they each drank three to four cups of red wine.

The group reportedly planned to travel to a friend’s house in Deerfield Beach, but Silva Mendez mistakenly got on the turnpike instead of Interstate 95. He described becoming lost several times due to unfamiliarity with the area.

Silva Mendez told investigators he did not know how the group ended up in Palm Beach County, and said he could not recall attempting to make a U-turn on the highway. Tests indicated Silva Mendez’s blood-alcohol level exceeded the state’s threshold for intoxication.

Julius Whigham II covers northern Palm Beach County and public safety for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Pompano man charged in fatal wrong-way turnpike crash