Boca Raton Community High School graduate dies in fatal crash on Interstate 95 in Martin County on May 17

• Hendry Aceituno Gudiño, 18, of Boca Raton Community High School was killed in a fatal crash on Interstate 95 on May 17.
• Gudiño's classmate said he was a joyful and loyal person.
• Mary Grella, of Vero Beach, said she and her daughter were driving home from Palm Beach Gardens when the crash happened in front of them.

MARTIN COUNTY — A single vehicle crash on Interstate 95 on May 17 resulted in two fatalities, one of which was a recent Boca Raton Community High School graduate, 18-year-old Hendry Aceituno Gudiño.

Around 8:40 p.m. that night a 2002 Chevy Camaro was traveling north on I-95 near Southwest Martin Highway when the driver lost control and the car traveled across the northbound lanes and struck a guardrail in the median, according to Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Indiana Miranda.

The driver of the car, a 52-year-old man, and Gudiño, of Riviera Beach, were pronounced deceased on scene. A 16-year-old girl in the back seat of the car was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, according to the crash report.

Roberto Hurtado, a classmate and friend of Gudiño, said the girl in the back seat was Gudiño's girlfriend and the man driving was the girlfriend's father.

Hurtado organized a GoFundMe to help raise money to cover funeral expenses, relocation expenses, and to support Gudiño's family. He said he and other friends are doing everything they can to give Gudiño a "proper goodbye." Gudiño graduated high school in Palm Beach County on May 14.

Hurtado said Gudiño was born in Venzuela and he moved with his mother to Florida in 2023. He said they met because Gudiño spoke about Ecuador, where Hurtado is from.

Hurtado said Gudiño called and Facetimed all of his friends about graduating high school and showing off his diploma saying "I got it, I did it." He said Gudiño was such a joyful person and there was always laughter when he was around.

"When you needed to talk about something serious, he was there. When it was time to laugh, he laughed with us," Hurtado said. "He was always there no matter what."

Hurtado said Gudiño had the phrase 'somos los que somos y estamos los que estamos' on his left arm which translates to ‘we are who we are, and we’re the ones who are here,’ according to Hurtado. He said as a tribute to Gudiño, he and a few others have decided to get the same tattoo in the same place on their arms.

Mary Grella, of Vero Beach, said she and her daughter were driving back from Palm Beach Gardens when the crash happened in front of them. She said I-95 was busy at the time and the car involved in the crash passed her before losing control, turning sideways in front of a semi, and eventually going off the road.

"The semi starts braking, I start braking, we're basically just ready for impact trying to figure out where the car is going," Grella said.

Grella said car parts were flying everywhere and while the car was sliding it smelled like fire and rubber. She said it happened so quick but felt like everything was moving in slow motion.

Grella said her daughter called 911 immediately after the crash happened.

"I wasn't even quite sure where we were," Grella said. "I told them we were before the St. Lucie exit and they pinged our car to figure out where we were. By the time they figured out where we were, they had dispatch going, so they were amazing."

Olivia Franklin is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Olivia on X @Livvvvv_5 or reach her by phone at 317-627-8048. E-mail her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com.