Noah Thomas Galle, 18, had a history of recording himself speeding through southeast Florida in a 2019 white BMW and later posting the videos on social media, a criminal affidavit states.
[ad_1]
On Jan. 27, one of those stunts turned fatal, a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report states.
That evening, Galle, driving the BMW at 151 mph, struck the back of a 2018 gray Nissan Rogue, causing the SUV to flip multiple times before coming to a halt, according to the report.
All six people in the Nissan Rogue, which landed upside down, were killed. When interviewed by law enforcement at the scene, Galle, then 17, confirmed he was the driver of the BMW, which had no other occupants, court records state.
Authorities on Monday charged Galle with six counts of vehicular homicide. He has pleaded not guilty.
On the night of Jan. 27, Galle raced the BMW M5 down a Delray Beach highway, the affidavit states. Then, close to 11 p.m., a Nissan Rogue turned onto the road. Galle’s vehicle allegedly rammed into the back of the Nissan, sending it flying several feet and killing its six occupants. Five of them were pronounced dead at the scene and one at a hospital, court records state.
Authorities identified the victims as Mirlaine Julceus, 45, Remize Michel, 53, Marie Louis, 60, Michel Saint, 77, Filaine Dieu, 46, and Vanice Percina, 29. The six were colleagues exiting the farm where they worked, police said during a news conference.
As Galle was taken to a hospital to be treated for an ankle injury, an officer asked him: “Hey, how fast were you driving?” court records state. He allegedly responded, “above 120.”
Galle was transported to Delray Medical Center, where an emergency room doctor told law enforcement that Galle said he was going 120 mph at the time of the collision, according to the affidavit.
A day after the crash, a woman contacted the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and told an investigator she had taken screenshots of the teenager’s Instagram and TikTok videos in which he allegedly recorded himself driving at “extremely high rates of speed.”
Days later, the same woman emailed investigators a video of Galle allegedly speeding on Interstate 95, which he had posted to his Instagram account. Galle allegedly posted the video two weeks before the car crash. The caption, according to the woman, read: “whoever can guess the speed correctly wins $25 on cash app.”
On Feb. 24, police obtained access to Galle’s Instagram account through a search warrant. Investigators found a video of Galle driving the BMW on I-95 at 182 mph, court records state.
During a court appearance Tuesday, Galle’s attorneys argued that the teenager is suicidal and should be released to his family, WPBF reported.
“Since the night of the accident, Your Honor, he’s had a very difficult time dealing with the tragedy and he’s been seeing a psychiatrist,” defense attorney Liz Parker said.
The victims’ family members also took the stand and described life without their loved ones. Some had young children, WPBF reported. Pero Family Farms, where the six victims worked, set up a fundraising page to help the families.
“This has been a very, very hard situation for my whole family, my sister and I and my daughter,” Marie Louis’s daughter Lyndie said at the court hearing covered by WPBF. “She’s 8. Every time she comes home, she’s been asking, ‘Why can’t grandma come back, Mom?’ My mom was a very loving and devoted woman.”
She added: “I think that the defendant should be in jail and not at home. We can’t see our families now and why should he? This was a very reckless crime and not just for my mom — everybody’s lives. We need justice.”
By the end of the court hearing, the judge agreed to place Galle on house arrest. He must be supervised by his parents, refrain from driving and have no contact with the victims’ families.
On Thursday, a judge ordered Galle to be transported to a hospital to undergo a mental health evaluation before he returns home, court records show.
[ad_2]
Source link