News

By Rich Pollack
    
    A Friday afternoon bike ride on State Road A1A turned into a tragedy when a car that veered off the roadway struck a Highland Beach couple.
    The couple, 70-year-old Patricia Goldstein and her husband, 75-year-old Howard Epstein, were riding their bicycles south on A1A toward their home in the Toscana condominium at about 12:30 in the afternoon on April 24 when a car driven by William Clever of Boca Raton weaved off the road and struck the couple.
    Goldstein, who along with Epstein was wearing a bicycle helmet, was knocked off her bicycle and thrown onto the hood of Clever’s 2014 Mazda before landing on the highway. She was rushed to Delray Medical Center in critical condition. Epstein, who was also struck, remained conscious and was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
    “They were riding off the roadway on the shoulder with helmets on and doing everything correctly,” said Highland Beach Police Chief Craig Hartmann. “This was a tragic accident that was due to no fault of their own.”
    The crash, in the 2900 block of South Ocean Boulevard, just south of the Delray Sands Resort, resulted in the road’s being closed for several hours.
    The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office’s traffic homicide investigation unit was called in because of the seriousness of the crash and is investigating the accident. Drugs or alcohol may be a factor and charges, if any, are pending additional information, according the Sheriff’s Office.
    Owners of a condo in Toscana since 2012, Goldstein and Epstein are both from New York, where according to published reports he was a dentist and she served as president of a real estate investment company. She also served as a trustee of the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C.
    Hartmann said the crash is the first serious accident on A1A since a pedestrian in his 20s was struck and seriously injured while crossing the highway five or six years ago.