Suspect accused of forcing man to drive him to hospital at gunpoint after crash

By Yasmine Julmisse

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    PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida (WPBF) — A South Florida man is accused of forcing another man to drive him to the hospital at gunpoint after a crash.

According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, deputies responded to a crash involving a car and an SUV on Interstate 95 on Sunday.

Officials arrived at the scene on the southbound lanes at Gateway Boulevard around 4:44 p.m. A trooper found a man and a woman sitting against the middle concrete barrier. The report says the two were apparently in distress and that the man was holding his shoulder, seemingly in pain.

The two told deputies they were driving their Honda Accord in an inside center lane when a silver Ford Explorer made an improper lane change in front of them, hitting the right front part of the Honda.

The car spun out and hit the middle traffic barrier, causing the airbags to deploy.

The victims told deputies they watched a man, David Sanabria, open the driver’s side door of the Ford while driving, then pull off to the outside shoulder.

According to the report, Sanabria then drove the bumper into the concrete wall.

The man and woman said they saw the 36-year-old get out of the SUV with what appeared to be a shotgun or assault rifle.

They and another witness told officials they watched Sanabria go into the middle of the highway and get into a gold car.

The person driving that car, an older model Chevy, told officials he was on his way to work when he saw traffic slow down due to a crash. When he came to a stop, he saw the suspect come out of a vehicle and point a gun at him, demanding a ride.

The man said he was in fear for his life and drove Sanabria to Broward Health North on Sample Road.

According to the report, when they arrived at the hospital, Sanabria took the driver’s firearm and went in.

He then gave a security guard the weapon and left shortly after.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office began looking for Sanabria’s vehicle and found it near the Heritage Circle Condominiums around 5:47 p.m. They conducted a traffic stop and arrested Sanabria and a woman passenger.

Sanabria told authorities that he was high on narcotics and that when he got out of his SUV after the I-95 crash, it was with an AR-15. He said that after forcing the driver of the Chevy to take him to the hospital in Broward, they traded firearms.

Sanabria also told investigators that when he got to the hospital, he called the mother of his children for help and she picked him up.

Sanabria admitted to serving jail time and said he knew he was not supposed to possess a firearm.

Sanabria, of Broward County, is in Palm Beach County Jail. He is charged with hit-and-run with injuries, one count of kidnapping, three counts of possession of a firearm, and one count of armed robbery.

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