A Boynton Beach police officer who investigated traffic crashes died in a car accident while off duty early Saturday morning.
Officer Dennis Castro, 37, was involved in a single-vehicle accident and died of severe injuries sustained in the crash, according to Boynton Beach Police. He had a wife and two children.
The details of the accident have not yet been released.
A single-vehicle crash claimed the life of a man in West Palm Beach early Saturday morning, though police did not say whether the crash was related. The identity of the man “is being withheld until positive identification is confirmed,” Mike Jachles, a spokesperson for the West Palm Beach police department, said in a release.
Officers received a call around 3:50 a.m. and arrived at the scene on Northlake Boulevard near the Shoppes of Ibis intersection. The vehicle struck the median “for reasons unknown” and spun out of control, hitting an FPL pole which “sheared the SUV in half” before it went up in flames, the release states.
The driver was ejected from the car, even though he was wearing a seatbelt. Police do not think he was drunk.
“Though the investigation is ongoing, traffic homicide investigators do not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash,” the release states.
Fellow officers, city officials and Boynton Beach residents mourned the loss of Castro on social media Saturday afternoon.
“Today is my toughest day as Chief of police,” Boynton Beach Police Chief Joe DeGiulio said in a statement. “Officer Castro’s service and commitment to the Boynton Beach Police Department and to the community we serve was truly remarkable.”
A former marine, Castro was a member of the SWAT team, the DUI Task Force, and a Traffic Homicide Investigator for the department. He was honored several times for his service in the Boynton Beach Police Department over the last 14 years, including being voted officer of the year by the Palm Beach County Commission’s Victim Services and Certified Rape Crisis Center.
“He was an exemplary officer,” the Center said in a Facebook comment.
Boynton Beach Mayor Ty Penserga also took to Facebook to mourn the loss.
“It is with great sadness and sympathy that I share with you the passing of Officer Dennis Castro, one of our beloved Boynton Beach Police Department officers,” Penserga said in a statement. “Many in the community knew him well and respected his unwavering commitment to the profession and to the city.”
Daniel Cruz, a former employee for a local towing company in Boynton, said he worked car crashes with Castro for several years.
Sometimes he couldn’t tell when Castro was serious or when he was joking, he said. The one thing he knew was that Castro had a good heart.
“He was a great guy,” Cruz said. “Always made sure that I made it home every night to my family.”
In February 2020, Castro jumped into a canal to try to save a woman who was trapped in her sinking car, the first of five officers to arrive. After 15 minutes in the water, the officers succeeded in smashing the car’s back door while a dive team pulled the woman out, though she ended up dying of her injuries.
“There was no giving up. None of us were giving up,” Castro said.
