FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Endial Thomas was arrested on Monday and he is facing charges in the death of a 27-year-old woman in Pompano Beach.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies said Thomas, 26 was drunk and speeding when he was involved in a crash that killed Aline Palla Acosta earlier this year.
The debris from the crash struck Palla Acosta about 5:10 p.m. on Feb. 19 while she was rollerblading along Northeast 10th Street near Northeast Fifth Avenue.
Thomas’ car smashed into a tree and split in two. Deputies said Thomas was driving at 96 miles-per-hour on a road with a 35 mph limit and he had a blood-alcohol level of .17 when the legal limit is .08.
Melissa Gregoire, of Fort Lauderdale, was Thomas' passenger. She survived the crash.
Palla Acosta, who was born in Brazil, worked at Smoothie Jungle Cafe and she had been married for three years before she was killed.
Broward County Judge Andy Siegel ordered Thomas, who was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and lived in Lauderdale Lakes, to turn over his passport.
Thomas is facing a charge of vehicular homicide, two counts of DUI manslaughter, three counts of reckless driving with damage to a person or property, three counts of driving under the influence with damage to property or a person of another, reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, and two counts of DUI and serious bodily injury to another.
Editorial note: Broward County court is holding hearings on Zoom due to the coronavirus pandemic.