Lake Worth Beach man saw stars and flashing lights after being run over by police car while stargazing in park.

Hey wait, that news about Lake Worth Beach can’t be true!

Or did this all happen in West Palm Beach
which does not have a beach?

And why is the West Palm PD the lead agency and not PBSO which is the law enforcement in LWB? Who knew LWB and WPB and PDs could be so complicated?

It is most definitely true almost everyone would be seeing stars after being run over by a motor vehicle, whether it be daytime or nighttime. That is if they are fortunate enough to survive that encounter with rubber and steel in the first place.

The police officer was found to be not at fault for this ‘accident’. One can imagine he was just as surprised as anyone would be when hearing that one thump and then the second thump. How would he know those two speed bumps were two people laying on the road in the dark of night just around the corner? Gee wiz. Who lays in the middle of the road at night?

Now moving on. . .

Did you happen to see that news in the Post online edition? Or on the front page of the ‘LOCAL’ section of print edition headlined,

“Victim run over by police car broke back”

And once again it makes our City look pretty silly and people all over Palm Beach County shaking their heads and wondering, “What is wrong with that place!”

As reported in the Post this particular man from Lake Worth “who lives near Lake Worth’s Northwest Park” went out one evening with a friend to watch the stars and boy did he. And her too. He and her ended up getting run over by a police car and seeing a whole lot of ‘stars’ that starlit night during the lunar eclipse last January.

The Lake Worth man, according to the Post, “suffered a broken back, a punctured lung, broken ribs, and a broken ankle” and the woman, “sustained scrapes, abrasions and multiple cuts”.

The story was headlined,

“Man’s back broken when West Palm police car ran over couple lying in road watching eclipse, report says”

The Lake Worth man spent almost two weeks in the hospital due to the injuries sustained.

The lesson is even while watching the stars one must always keep safety a top priority.

Lake Worth Beach is a “built out” City meaning there is very little open space available, potential for more development is limited and there is street lighting almost everywhere. This City is awash in ambient lighting from homes, businesses and motor vehicles which is not good for stargazing. Simply put, there are no places left for “Dark Sky” nighttime star watching any more.

However, not very far away is the Arthur R. Marshall (ARM) Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge west of Boynton Beach.

But before you head out to the ARM Wildlife Refuge find out when the next stargazing event is coming up: Call 561-734-8303 or send an email to: armloxahatchee@fws.gov

You see. If you enter this national park after hours you could very well be cited for trespassing.

For public safety reasons, officials at this park don’t want to run you over with one of their vehicles on patrol in the dark of night, you know, an unexpected speed bump or two.