STUART, Fla. (CBS12) — A crash report from the Florida Highway Patrol provides new details on a fatal accident in Martin County on May 21 that killed a high school senior.
Christopher Brooks, 18, died in the accident that happened hours before he would’ve graduated.
The FHP report says Brooks “operated motor vehicle carelessly or negligently.”
It also says Brooks was wearing a seatbelt and a shoulder belt, his vision was not obscured, and his estimated speed was 45 miles per hour on a road where the posted speed limit is 45 miles per hour.
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The report says the 2007 Honda Accord he was driving had no vehicle defects.
In the crash report, there’s a box that says “driver distracted by,” and it says “unknown.”
The report says alcohol and drug use were not suspected as being factors in the crash. But Brooks’ blood was tested for alcohol and drugs, and the test results are unknown.
Brooks was traveling northbound on SW Pratt Whitney Road and he was approaching the intersection of SW Bulldog Way when he crashed into the back of a dump truck that was stopped at the intersection. The dump truck was pushed forward into the back of a semi-truck that had also stopped for the traffic light.
At the scene, investigators said Brooks was on his way to a graduation ceremony rehearsal at South Fork High School when the accident happened. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Traffic Homicide Investigation has not been completed. Toxicology reports are pending.