Bernard Wright, a well-known Boynton Beach community activist and religious leader, died Tuesday evening at the age of 70, five months after he was severely injured in a hit-and-run crash.
A teenager crashed into Wright on Dec. 26, 2022, just moments before he planned to leave a vigil that was held that evening in a median of North Federal Highway for Stanley Davis III, a 13-year-old boy who died there on that day in 2021 during a police pursuit.
Wright was severely injured in the crash and underwent multiple surgeries. Months later, Boynton Beach Police arrested Jamal Lormejuste, 18, of Lantana, on charges of charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury.
Officer Holly Picciano, a Boynton Beach Police spokesperson, said in an email Wednesday afternoon that the department does not have any additional information on the case.
Bryce Graham, a local activist and Wright-family friend, said Wright had been released from the hospital and was recovering before he was again hospitalized last week.
“He was doing well and still recovering and still trying to just get back to the norm, which was difficult,” Graham said.
After Stanley’s death nearly two years ago, Wright was one of the many outraged Boynton Beach residents who routinely called on city elected officials and the police department on behalf of the boy’s family to fire the officer who violated policy by chasing him.
It was their activism after Stanley’s death that brought Wright and Graham closer, Graham told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Wednesday afternoon. He called Wright “a billboard of faith.”
“We reconnected because of Stanley Davis III, and we built a brotherhood. It was a true brotherhood,” Graham said. “He would do anything for anybody, for the cause of right and for the cause of justice. That’s what he stood on.”
Wright’s family said in a statement provided by Graham that details of his funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days.
Lormejuste’s attorney did not immediately return a voicemail or email seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.
Palm Beach County court records show the next court date in the case is scheduled for July 19.
