PAHOKEE – A Canal Point man was charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident after running over a pedestrian on a sidewalk on March 1, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

According to PBSO Investigator J. Schneider’s report, a motor vehicle crash was called into PBSO communications at 3:32 p.m. on March 1, 2023.

A witness to the accident told deputies a white Dodge pickup truck was eastbound on Bacom Point Road when it veered right off the roadway onto the sidewalk and hit a woman. The witness said the truck stopped in a grass area on the southeast corner and the driver got out of the vehicle. The witness said he approached the truck and told the driver he had just hit and killed a woman. The witness said the driver got back in the truck and drove off. The witness attempted to follow the truck on foot but was unable to keep up.

The investigator found a white mirror in the intersection, a Ram emblem on the roadway and a stop sign which had been impacted during the collision. The victim was lying in the southeast corner of the intersection.

Following the investigation, the driver was identified as James Preston Cole, 25, of Canal Point. According to the report, “Cole indicated that his father and he are mechanics and he was aware of the following mechanical problems with the vehicle: Bad passenger front hub bearing was wobbling; powering steering pump was not working, making it harder to steer; the passenger side bearings were bad, and the vehicle pulling to the passenger side. He stated that he was aware of all the issues fro at least a week. He had acquired the vehicle approximately six months prior from his cousin in Bell, Fla. and he had not registered it yet.”

Cole was charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence and leaving the scene of a crash involving death. On March 4, Cole was denied bail by County Judge Frank S. Castor.

The victim of the crash has been identified by PBSO as Precious Barber, 37.