West Palm police Sgt. Fernando DeSouza identified as driver killed in Boynton crash

WEST PALM BEACH — City police have identified a 16-year veteran of its force as the victim in a fatal crash last week in Boynton Beach.

Sgt. Fernando DeSouza died in the single-vehicle wreck that occurred on the morning of July 28 at Hypoluxo and Lawrence roads, a statement released by the department on Wednesday afternoon said. He was 43.

DeSouza, who was driving a city patrol car, was not on duty at the time of the crash, the statement said.

"This is very tragic news and a tremendous loss for Fernando’s family and his West Palm Beach police family,” West Palm Beach Police Chief Frank Adderley said in prepared remarks.

“I have been with his family and there are no words to describe the grief and sorrow they are experiencing. We are all deeply saddened and continue to pray for him, his family, friends, and colleagues during this very difficult time.”

DeSouza was hired as a West Palm Beach police officer in January 2007 and was promoted to sergeant in October 2017. He was most recently assigned to road patrol in the south end of the city.

He received several commendations and a service certificate throughout his police career. DeSouza was also a decorated military veteran and Purple Heart recipient who served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan while in the U.S. Army.

In November 2016, The Palm Beach Post interviewed him for a story about police officers who speak multiple languages. DeSouza, a bilingual officer who spoke English and Spanish, described the importance of being able to communicate with callers in their native language.

"You can see how their trust opens and they leave the other officer standing there and come to me because they know I'm going to be the one who understands what they're trying to say," he said in the 2016 interview.

He also spoke to The Post in 2019 about efforts by a local program designed to provide community ID cards to undocumented immigrants. DeSouza described the challenge of trying to obtain information from those without proper documentation, including situations where those speaking to him would provide different spellings of their names.

"At first, I thought they were lying to me," he said, until he realized that many could not spell their names, nor knew their birthdates, for lack of education and documentation from their home countries. He spoke to local organizations at ID drives, explaining how the cards helped those without other documentation deal with police.

"I tell them not to be afraid to call police," he said in the 2019 interview. "We're not here to call ICE. … You're just a regular person calling police."

DeSouza is survived by a son and two daughters. Funeral arrangements are pending, the department said.

The crash remains under investigation by the Boynton Beach Police Department.

According to that department's initial accounts, the crash occurred at about 2:30 a.m. July 28. Investigators found a marked West Palm Beach Police vehicle with one occupant inside but did not immediately confirm whether the person was a law-enforcement officer.

The patrol car caught fire after the collision, and its driver died from the injuries sustained in the crash, Boynton Beach police said.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Police: West Palm Sgt. Fernando DeSouza died in Boynton Beach crash