LAKE WORTH, FL — The video became the break in the case. PBSO investigators say surveillance footage showed a black Ford Explorer Sport Trac strike a bicyclist on Lake Worth Road, slow down, and continue westbound without stopping.
Months later, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Warrants Unit arrested Jenner Arturo Morales Galvez in connection with the fatal crash.
Morales Galvez, 21, of Lantana, was arrested June 10, 2026, on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office probable cause affidavit and traffic division log reviewed by Boca Post.
The crash happened shortly after midnight on September 3, 2025, in the 2500 block of Lake Worth Road in unincorporated Lake Worth, according to PBSO.
The bicyclist was identified in PBSO records as Athanasia Theodoropoulos, 43, of Greenacres. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue pronounced her dead at the scene, according to the affidavit.
According to PBSO’s traffic division log, Theodoropoulos had been riding westbound in the bicycle lane before crossing Lake Worth Road mid-block, outside a crosswalk. PBSO said the Ford was traveling westbound in the inside lane closest to the median when the front left of the vehicle struck her.
When deputies arrived, the vehicle involved was gone, according to the affidavit.
Investigators initially had witness descriptions of possible vehicles, but the affidavit says none of the potential witnesses saw the crash happen. PBSO then turned to countywide real-time crime center cameras and license plate readers.
Investigators later obtained surveillance video from Riverview House at 2571 Lake Worth Road, according to the affidavit. The video allegedly showed Theodoropoulos walking with her bicycle westbound, standing with the bicycle in the inside westbound lane, and then being struck by a black Ford Explorer Sport Trac.
The affidavit says the vehicle slowed but did not stop at the crash scene before continuing westbound out of camera view.
Investigators used license plate reader records to identify a black 2005 Ford Explorer Sport Trac traveling westbound toward the area of the crash, according to the affidavit. PBSO later identified the vehicle as a Ford Explorer Sport Trac bearing Florida tag CV4079.
On January 8, 2026, investigators located the vehicle at Pick Your Part on Benoist Farms Road in West Palm Beach, according to the affidavit.
PBSO said the vehicle had front-end damage that investigators described as consistent with the crash, including damage to the hood and front grille. Investigators also wrote that several identifying features of the vehicle matched what was seen on the surveillance video.
A search and seizure warrant was obtained for the Ford, and the vehicle was taken to the PBSO secure impound lot, according to the affidavit.
Investigators then interviewed the vehicle’s registered owner, who told PBSO that Morales Galvez had been driving the Ford when the crash occurred, according to the affidavit. The owner also told investigators that another family member found Morales Galvez at home scared and crying about the crash that night.
PBSO later conducted a sworn, recorded interview with Morales Galvez, according to the affidavit.
During that interview, investigators wrote that Morales Galvez said he had been driving westbound on Lake Worth Road when he felt an impact to the front of the Ford. He told investigators it was dark and raining, slowed down, looked back, and did not see anything in the roadway, according to the affidavit.
Morales Galvez told investigators he continued driving, returned home, saw damage to the Ford, and knew he had been involved in a crash, according to the affidavit. Investigators wrote that he said it later crossed his mind that he may have hit a person who was seriously injured or dead.
The affidavit says Morales Galvez never called police or reported the crash.
Investigators also interviewed another family member, who told PBSO that Morales Galvez called him the night of the crash and said he had been involved in an accident and left the scene, according to the affidavit.
PBSO said the family member also told investigators that Morales Galvez said a person had crossed in front of him and was seriously injured or dead after being hit.
Based on the investigation, PBSO found probable cause to charge Morales Galvez with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a violation of F.S.S. 316.027(2)(c).
Court records identify the case as 50-2026-CF-004284-AXXX-MB.
Bond information, release status, attorney information, and the next court date were not included in the records provided to Boca Post.
The charge is an allegation. Morales Galvez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Readers can follow all local updates in our Lake Worth News section.
