Florida TikToker in speeding BMW that killed 6 farmworkers avoids decades in prison
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A rich TikTok star who drove a BMW into an SUV at a high rate of speed that killed six Florida farmworkers when he was 17 cut a deal with prosecutors to avoid spending decades in prison.
Noah Galle, of Wellington, near West Palm Beach, pleaded guilty in court Monday under a deal that will see him serve 12 years and 180 days in prison, seven years probation, and revocation of his driver’s licence for three years, reports NBC affiliate WPTV.
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He will also be required to perform 800 hours of community service, appear at a victim impact panel and take a 12-hour driving course.
Galle, the son of prominent local attorney Craig Galle, avoided a trial that could have seen him sentenced to between 55 and 90 years.
West Palm Beach Chief Assistant State Attorney Al Johnson told Fox News that the sentence imposed was a “significant punishment.”
“No amount of prison time will bring the victims back to their families,” Johnson said in a statement. “The families have written to us that they did not object to this plea. Some of them didn’t even want him to go to jail at all. One wanted us to drop the case entirely.”
Police said Galle was driving his 2019 BMW M5 151 miles per hour (243 kilometres per hour) on U.S. Route 441 west of Delray Beach on the evening of Jan. 27, 2022, when he crashed into a 2018 Nissan Rogue and sent the SUV rolling, which ejected some of the six passengers until it came to a complete stop upside down in the median.
Five people died at the scene and a sixth person passed away in hospital.
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The crash killed driver Mirlane Julceus, 45, and her passengers Michel Louis Saint, 77, Marie Michelle Louis, 60, Remzie Michel, 53, Filaine Dieu, 46, and Vanice Percina, 29.
The police report at the time of the arrest noted that Galle had posted videos on social media in the past of himself speeding on highways and offered $25 to anyone who could guess how fast he was going.
According to The Palm Beach Post, Galle must also record and share a video to social media detailing his story and warn his followers of the dangers of reckless behaviour on the road and the importance of safe driving.
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