MARTIN COUNTY – After three recent traffic-related deaths following southwest Warfield Boulevard crashes, Sheriff John Budencik urged residents to contact state representatives and public officials to voice their concerns about the road, which he described as a “death trap.”
“This highlights a problem we’ve had for many years,” Budencik said on Jan. 13, a day after the fatal crash on the road. “Highway 710, Warfield Boulevard, has been a death trap for motorists traveling that road for years.”
Southwest Warfield Boulevard, also known as State Road 710, generally runs between Okeechobee County in the northwest and Palm Beach County in the southeast, mostly through rural areas.
A 73-year-old woman, a 44-year-old man, and a 53-year-old woman were traveling east in a 2013 Toyota in the crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Meanwhile, a 2025 Ford pickup, driven by a 27-year-old Pahokee man with a 27-year-old Belle Glade man as a passenger, was also eastbound and crashed into the back of the Toyota. The Toyota then went into the westbound lane, and collided head-on with a 2019 Ford Transit van driven by Okeechobee, 62. The crash occurred 0.25 miles east of Southwest Impact Drive.
A 73-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man were seriously injured, one died at the scene and the other in hospital. The condition of the third person in the Toyota is critical.
A 27-year-old Pahokee man was jailed on two counts each of DUI manslaughter and driving while license suspended causing death, according to the FHP. The passenger was taken to jail on immigration charges.
Another fatal crash occurred on Jan. 10, according to the FHP.
That crash was reported at 10:33 a.m. at Southwest Warfield Boulevard in the area of Southwest FP&L Access Road. A 21-year-old Tequesta man was killed and a 30-year-old man from Okeechobee was seriously injured.
A Tequesta man allegedly driving a 2023 Kia southbound in the northbound lane crashed in front of a northbound 2019 Chevrolet pickup. The drivers were taken by helicopter to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce where the 21-year-old man died, according to the FHP.
“The community out there is up in arms, and rightfully so,” Budencik said. “They see it day in and day out … and that’s my understanding of the problem in the early ’80s.”
Budencik said a traffic study has been done and the road needs to be widened.
“Well, it didn’t happen, and here we are in 2026 with only three deaths this year,” he said.
He said the village of Indiantown, state legislators, former Sheriff William Snyder, and now himself “have been pushing the state to do something about that road.”
Budencik said after the Jan. 12 crash, he contacted state Rep. John Snyder, R-Stuart, who reportedly was going to the director of the state Department of Transportation “and urging them to act quickly.”
“We cannot patrol our way through these fatal accidents,” he said.
The sheriff’s office, he said, wrote 16,000 citations last year, 2,000 of which were on Southwest Warfield Boulevard.
“We can’t message our way out of this. We can’t write a ticket out of this,” he said. ‘The road should be widened’
He said that the plan to expand from 2029 to 2030 will not be enough soon.
“My question is, how many people do we have to die to get that project going?” Budencik said. “Florida claims they have the safest roads in the country, but this road is one that is clearly not in that category.”
In addition to the three people killed in crashes on Southwest Warfield Boulevard this year, three other people, including two teenage girls, have died in crashes this year in Martin County.
At least six people have died in traffic accidents in Martin County in less than two weeks.
Budencik encouraged citizens to contact state representatives to express their feelings.
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Southwest Warfield Boulevard north of Indiantown is one lane in both directions. South of Indiantown it has two lanes in both directions, Budencik said.
“We haven’t had a large number of deaths there,” he said. “It’s almost like we’ve got our own proof of concept. It’s wide open on the south side of town and it works and we don’t get those horrible accidents. It’s on the north side of town and we’re still dealing with the same issues.”
Budencik wants to see a road widened from Indiantown through Okeechobee County to State Road 70, which he estimates is at least 20 miles.
“We’re all working to make that road safer, but we need the support of the community, the taxpayers, to do that,” he said. “Then of course the Department of Transportation should move to our position.”
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will to X @OffTheBeatTweet Or contact him by calling 772-267-7926. Email him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared in Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin Sheriff says road is ‘death trap’ with history of deaths
