By Jose Lamiet
Palm Beach Post
WELLINGTON, Fla. — The first responders to the fatal car crash involving International Polo Club founder John Goodman are under investigation because the body of 23-year-old Scott Wilson was not found until an hour after the accident.
As many as 10 Palm Beach County Fire Rescue workers are under investigation in the aftermath of the Feb. 12 accident, when Goodman ran a stop sign and slammed Wilson's car into a canal.
Two firefighters searched Wilson's submerged vehicle, which was upside down in the water, but they could not find anyone in the early morning darkness, sources told The Palm Beach Post on Monday.
In time, the fire rescue responders from Wellington's Station 27 left the scene because they believed their job was done. Sheriff's deputies were at the scene when Wilson's Hyundai Sonata was hoisted back on the road, revealing his body in the driver's seat.
"Our guys obviously didn't look for a body hard enough,'' said a fire rescue source.
Capt. Don Delucia, fire rescue's spokesman, confirmed the existence of the investigation but declined further comment. When asked about emergency procedures for cars in canals, Delucia said: "There are masks and snorkels on the emergency vehicles but the conditions in our canals are bad. It's so opaque you can't see your hand in front of you, even in broad daylight. Diving on a vehicle is extremely dangerous and difficult."
Delucia said responders also have the option to call in professional divers, but that wasn't done, according to a source.
An autopsy showed that Wilson drowned after Goodman drove his Bentley through a stop sign and hit his car, sending it into the water off Lake Worth Road in Wellington. Goodman left the scene and walked to a nearby home to call 911. Authorities are still trying to figure out whether alcohol or drugs were involved.
Goodman, 46, has hired star attorney Roy Black and has been staying in Miami Beach hotels since the crash. He has not been charged.
Meanwhile, the No. 2 man at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Col. Mike Gauger, is conducting an informal review of sheriff's deputies' response. He declined to comment on the review.
Wilson, a Wellington High graduate who earned his engineering degree from the University of Central Florida in May, was headed home for his sister's birthday.
Reached Monday, William Wilson, Scott's father, said, "I haven't been told anything by the sheriff's office or anyone, so I can't really comment."
Copyright 2010 The Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.
