WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Seven West Palm Beach police officers are facing criminal charges months after a high-speed chase led to a deadly crash. According to prosecutors, some of the officers did not stop to help the two victims.
Junel Pochette, a husband and father to the victims, sat still in the courtroom as each officer arrived for their hearings.
“The police said they are assigned for protection. But, they destroyed my family,” he said. “It’s sad.”
Authorities say the officers were chasing a driver in Boynton Beach last summer when the driver crashed into Pochette’s wife and daughter, 57-year-old Marcia Pochette and 27-year-old Jenice Woods. Both women would succumb to their injuries.
According to court documents, some officers never stopped to help the dying victims, even driving past the mangled vehicle without offering aid.
“We never know what could have happened if they stopped to check for a pulse to see if they were still breathing,” said a woman. Yet they left the scene recklessly driving.”
Prosecutors say the officers drove back to West Palm Beach, traveling at over 100 miles per hour.
“More likely than not, they knew at that time, ‘We really, really, really messed up’,” said Scott Smith, an attorney.
The family says they plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
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