Water service has been restored to hundreds of Hobe Sound residents after an overnight crash damaged a major water line and disrupted service for much of Thursday morning.The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said 24-year-old Eliuvar Garza, of Stuart, was arrested after deputies say he crashed into a critical water line at the Hobe Sound-Osprey Water Plant on Wednesday night and then left the scene.The crash sent water rushing through a nearby neighborhood and knocked out water service for hundreds of customers.Cleanup crews remained at the scene Thursday morning, removing debris and repairing the damaged infrastructure.Residents living near the water plant said the crash was loud enough to wake them up.”I thought the water plant was blowing up. That’s seriously what I thought,” neighbor Randy Nylen said.Nylen said he heard a couple of loud booms before seeing water pouring from the damaged line.”The water looked like 10 Olympic pools just were being drained at one time,” he said.The damaged line caused little to no water pressure for hundreds of customers overnight. South Martin Regional Utility reported that water pressure was restored shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday.Investigators said Garza ran from the scene after the crash. Deputies later located him after a family member took him to a hospital for injuries sustained in the wreck.Garza faces multiple charges, including leaving the scene of a crash, driving with a suspended license, failure to use due care and failure to stop at a stop sign.The cause of the crash is not clear at this time.Although water service has been restored, South Martin Regional Utility has issued a boil water advisory for customers from Southeast Bridge Road north to Southeast Seabranch Boulevard.Officials are advising customers to boil water for at least three minutes before using it for drinking, cooking, food preparation or other consumptive purposes until further notice.Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
HOBE SOUND, Fla. —
Water service has been restored to hundreds of Hobe Sound residents after an overnight crash damaged a major water line and disrupted service for much of Thursday morning.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said 24-year-old Eliuvar Garza, of Stuart, was arrested after deputies say he crashed into a critical water line at the Hobe Sound-Osprey Water Plant on Wednesday night and then left the scene.
The crash sent water rushing through a nearby neighborhood and knocked out water service for hundreds of customers.
Cleanup crews remained at the scene Thursday morning, removing debris and repairing the damaged infrastructure.
Residents living near the water plant said the crash was loud enough to wake them up.
“I thought the water plant was blowing up. That’s seriously what I thought,” neighbor Randy Nylen said.
Nylen said he heard a couple of loud booms before seeing water pouring from the damaged line.
“The water looked like 10 Olympic pools just were being drained at one time,” he said.
The damaged line caused little to no water pressure for hundreds of customers overnight. South Martin Regional Utility reported that water pressure was restored shortly after 9 a.m. Thursday.
Investigators said Garza ran from the scene after the crash. Deputies later located him after a family member took him to a hospital for injuries sustained in the wreck.
Garza faces multiple charges, including leaving the scene of a crash, driving with a suspended license, failure to use due care and failure to stop at a stop sign.
The cause of the crash is not clear at this time.
Although water service has been restored, South Martin Regional Utility has issued a boil water advisory for customers from Southeast Bridge Road north to Southeast Seabranch Boulevard.
Officials are advising customers to boil water for at least three minutes before using it for drinking, cooking, food preparation or other consumptive purposes until further notice.
Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.