PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A Saturday night crash in West Palm Beach turned tragic after a high-speed wreck claimed the life of a young girl and left three other family members seriously injured. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office tells BocaNewsNow.com that the single-vehicle accident occurred around 9:52 p.m. in the 2600 block of South Military Trail.
According to investigators, 38-year-old Joel Isaias Leiniz of Margate was driving a 2017 Audi Q7 southbound at a high rate of speed. While traveling in the left lane, Leiniz attempted to change lanes to the right but swerved abruptly to avoid a slower-moving vehicle in the center lane. The sudden maneuver caused Leiniz to lose control of the SUV, which mounted the curb and slammed into a concrete power pole.
The impact was so severe that the rear of the Audi lifted off the ground, rotating counter-clockwise around the pole before coming to a rest on the sidewalk. Shortly after the collision, the vehicle’s engine compartment caught fire. All four occupants were rushed to a nearby hospital, where 8-year-old Zoe Alaya Leiniz was later pronounced deceased. The driver and two other young passengers, ages 5 and 11, remain hospitalized with serious injuries.
PBSO investigators say that neither the driver nor the two older children were wearing safety equipment at the time of the crash.
