BOYNTON BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A Lake Worth man has been arrested and charged with vehicular homicide in connection with a crash that killed a 14-year-old Boynton Beach boy back in June.
Boynton Beach Police say 35-year-old Michael Scott Bates was driving a BMW M4 southbound near the 4600 block of North Congress Avenue just before 9 p.m. on June 12 when he struck Christopher Cetoute, who was crossing the road heading east. Bates was traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour at the moment of impact, according to detectives with the department’s Traffic Division. Boynton Beach Fire Rescue pronounced Cetoute dead at the scene.
Everyone involved in the crash stayed on scene that night, and police opened an investigation that stretched for nearly three months. Detectives ultimately determined Bates’ speed was the factor behind the teenager’s death, leading to the vehicular homicide charge.
Bates turned himself in at the Palm Beach County Jail on September 10.
