Teen charged in 151-mph crash that killed 6 posted Instagram videos of himself racing
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Link copied April 22, 2022, 3:29 PM UTC / Updated April 22, 2022, 4:20 PM UTC By Marlene Lenthang
A Florida teenager has been charged in the deaths of six people in a violent 151-mph crash in January, and new court documents reveal he posted himself racing at 182 mph in his luxury BMW on social media just two weeks prior.
Noah Galle, 18, was formally charged Monday with six counts of vehicular homicide in the Jan. 27 crash that killed six farm employees leaving work in Delray Beach, Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg announced.
Each count is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The crash unfolded just before 11 p.m. when Galle, driving his 2019 white BMW at 151 mph, struck the back of a Nissan Rogue with six occupants inside on South State Road 7, according to a probable cause affidavit. He was 17 at the time of the crash.
The occupants of the Nissan Rogue were leaving Pero Family Farms where they worked, documents said.
Galle's vehicle crushed the rear of the Nissan "forward several feet into the passenger compartment," the affidavit said.
The blow was so forceful, the Nissan rotated into the center median and started "flipping and rolling over before coming to a final rest (upside down) within the center median," the affidavit said.
Five of the occupants of the car were declared dead at the scene. A sixth died at Delray Medical Center.
The victims were identified as Mirlaine Innocent Julceus, 45, Remize Michel, 53, Marie Michelle Louis, 60, Michel Louis Saint, 77, Filaine Dieu, 46, and Vanice Percina, 29.
Galle appeared to have his Instagram handle emblazoned on the driver's and passenger side of his car, an investigator noted at the crash site, according to the affidavit.
A day after the collision, the sheriff's office received a tip about Galle's posts on Instagram and TikTok, "in which he recorded himself driving at extremely high rates of speed," the affidavit stated.
The tipster sent a screenshot of a video showing the suspect speeding on Interstate 95, telling authorities that Galle posted it two weeks before the accident.
A search warrant for the Instagram account led investigators to find what appeared to be that same video, showing Galle in the white BMW driving at 182 miles an hour on I-95. Officials said they knew the car was the same because of the dashboard and instrument panel configuration.
In an edited version of that video, he wrote the caption, "first to guess the MPH gets 25 cashapp," in reference to the online payment app. Investigators noted there were several Instagram Messenger posts in reference to the "guess the mph" video post.
Galle told an investigator after the crash while en route to the hospital he was going "above 120."
However, officials conducted search warrants for the airbag control modules of both vehicles and found Galle was driving at 151 mph at impact, while the other car was driving at 38 mph.
"We will seek justice by vigorously prosecuting this case," Aronberg said in a news release.
"Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of the six innocent victims in this tragedy," he added.
Galle made his first court appearance Tuesday. Bond was set at $300,000, $50,000 for each crash victim, and he was placed on house arrest. He was ordered to be supervised by a responsible parent and barred form having contact with the victims' families.
Galle entered a plea of not guilty to all charges, court records state.
One of his attorneys, Douglas Duncan, said he does not comment on pending cases.
Marlene Lenthang
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
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I guess the thing that really baffles me is with all the things that social media prohibits, Instagram allowed this clearly illegal and dangerous activity to be posted. Why?
Hopefully his punishment is more severe than that of the rich drunk teenager a few years back
15 years on each count and to run consecutively seems like a fitting sentence.
He should be barred from ever having a driving licence, for when he leaves prison in his 30s. IMO this is yet another example of the result of lenient parenting.
I don't know about that Buzz kids (especially boys) have been going too fast with whatever we could get our hands on since the beginning of history (horses, bicycles, wagons, Model T's, etc). I'm not excusing the result of his behaivious (that needs punishment) just saying that if this is the result of lenient parenting then every parent of most every boy (myself included) ever has been too lenient
I might have done some wild or nasty things when I was a kid, but when I was caught I paid the price. At least I never killed or injured anyone.
Lol might have?
LOL. Touché.