Driver Charged After Crashing Into Boca Raton Police Car Door During Traffic Stop, Not Stopping

Michael Slate (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A motorist from Boca Raton has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident and several minor offenses after police say he crashed into the door of a Boca Raton police vehicle that was making an unrelated traffic stop, slicing off the police car’s door as the officer was about to exit. The driver is alleged to have continued on without stopping.

Michael Slate, 74, of Boca Raton, was located after police dash cam footage linked his license plate number to the crash, which occurred on Yamato Road at 8:22 p.m. Nov. 21, 2025. According to a police report, an officer had just pulled over a Jeep for a traffic infraction, and was located in the far-right lane of Yamato. The Jeep had pulled over to the shoulder, and the police car was stopped, with its emergency lights flashing, in the shoulder and partially in the right lane.

Just as the officer was opening the door of the police vehicle, another vehicle, described as a four-door Toyota sedan “side-swiped the driver’s door,” causing the door to swing off its hinges and wrap around the hood. The police vehicle was rendered inoperable, the report said, and the officer called for backup. The driver of the Toyota, later identified as Slate, did not stop and proceeded eastbound on Yamato Road.

After identifying the owner of the vehicle, another officer went to the address linked to the license plate and knocked on the front door of the home. Slate, the report stated, allegedly told the officer “I hit a car or someone hit me” after opening the front door. When the two went to check his car for damage, Slate is then alleged to have given the officer conflicting explanations about the crash, including one in which a driver pulled out in front of him and hit his car.

Slate was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and issued traffic tickets for careless driving and failure to move over for an emergency vehicle. He was booked at the Palm Beach County Jail and released on $10,000 bond.