Inset: Joel Leiniz (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Military Trail in West Palm Beach, Florida (Google Maps).
A Florida father is facing charges after authorities said his 8-year-old daughter was killed in a violent crash that happened while he was speeding and allegedly impaired behind the wheel.
Joel Leiniz, 38, had left a church concert on the night of Jan. 17 and was headed to a taco restaurant with his three children when the crash unfolded in West Palm Beach, police said. According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, Leiniz, described as a former youth pastor, was driving an Audi Q7 SUV along Military Trail when he later told investigators he “swerved” to avoid another vehicle before slamming into a concrete pole on the roadside.
His daughter, Zoe, was riding in the back seat with two other children. She was taken to a hospital after the wreck but died from her injuries.
In the aftermath of the crash, police said one of the three children in the SUV was not wearing a seat belt. At the hospital, Leiniz allegedly told officers he “did not think he was speeding because he had kids in the car.” A nearby nightclub security worker backed up part of his account, telling authorities the SUV appeared to swerve to avoid another vehicle. Surveillance footage from the area also showed the Audi veering away from another car before the collision.
Investigators later reviewed data from the SUV’s event recorder and said it painted a far more alarming picture: Leiniz was traveling 104 mph in a 40 mph zone moments before the deadly impact. The data showed he appeared to brake roughly two seconds before the crash.
Police also said blood testing and medical records indicated Leiniz’s blood-alcohol content was 0.097 at the time of the crash, a level authorities said showed he was impaired.
Local NBC affiliate WPTV reported that Leiniz served as a youth pastor and ministry director at New Covenant Church. Leiniz reportedly lost his wife to cancer about a year before the crash, and the family was living off Social Security benefits and donations.
Leiniz was charged with vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter. He was arrested on Sunday and is being held at the Main Detention Center of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office on $75,000 bond. His next court date is scheduled for Aug. 18.
