BY: ANDREW COLTON | Editor and Publisher
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2023 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The victims of last week’s double fatal crash near the intersection of Kimberly Blvd. and U.S. 441 have been identified. BocaNewsNow.com, which confirmed the names shortly after the crash, was asked by law enforcement to withhold the names pending family notification. That notification, we understand, has been made.
Arie and Zahava Oberlender were both from Long Island, New York, but maintained a residence in the Boca Raton area. They were legally crossing U.S. 441 at Kimberly Blvd., in a Nissan Rogue, when they were slammed by a Jeep Cherokee that did not stop at a red light.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office checked the “drugs and alcohol” box on the report reviewed by BocaNewsNow.com when describing Jamie Escobedo. Escobedo, according to police, was the driver of the Jeep that hit the Oberlenders with such force, their Nissan Rogue flipped — landing on its roof. Escobedo lives in the 1800 block of NW 15th Vista in Boca Raton.
The Oberlenders were trapped inside the overturned vehicle and pronounced dead before their bodies were extricated from the mangled mess. Mr. Oberlender was 82 years old. Mrs. Oberlender was 79. A third person in the vehicle was not identified by law enforcement. That person, a woman, was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
Charges have not been filed against Escobedo — the driver of the Jeep. Vehicular Homicide investigations in Palm Beach County often take six months to a year.
