Boca Teen Arrested in Fatal Hit-and-Run Accident That Claimed 17-Year-Old

Douglas Brown Jr. (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A 19-year-old Boca Raton man has been charged months after a 17-year-old was fatally struck by a pickup truck following a confrontation outside the teen’s home, according to a newly released arrest warrant affidavit.

Douglas Brown Jr. was arrested on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, a felony, in connection with the Nov. 30, 2025, death of Dominic Aletto, according to the probable cause affidavit filed by Boca Raton police in court this week. The incident occurred shortly before 3 a.m. in the 1300 block of SW 14th Avenue. Police said Brown was driving a blue 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 pickup truck with two passengers when Aletto, who knew Brown, approached the vehicle on foot.

Witness accounts in the affidavit describe a chaotic scene stemming from an earlier altercation at a bonfire. Brown had called Aletto after learning that Aletto and another teen had been involved in a fight with one of Brown’s friends. Brown drove to Aletto’s neighborhood intending to talk, according to his statement to detectives. In the fracas that ensued, Aletto was said to have run up to the truck, yelling and “attempting to strike occupants through open windows.” He allegedly ripped off the front passenger door handle and reached inside, while another teen struck the rear of the truck. Brown told detectives he feared for his and his passengers’ safety, accelerated away and felt Aletto was partially inside the vehicle at the time.

The 1300 block of SW 14th Avenue, Boca Raton, FL. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

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Two passengers in the pickup gave varying accounts but described feeling a “speed bump” as the truck pulled away. They told Brown he had run over Aletto and urged him to stop, but Brown allegedly denied it and continued driving, later dropping the passengers at Florida Atlantic University, the affidavit states.

Aletto was run over by the truck’s rear passenger-side tire and suffered multiple blunt force injuries. He was pronounced dead at a hospital around 3:08 a.m. Brown was stopped by police a short time later in his neighborhood. He initially told investigators he did not realize he had struck Aletto until later, though he acknowledged a “thought in the back of [his] mind” that he possibly had. Blood was later detected on the truck’s rear passenger-side tire during a search.

The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the manner of death an accident. The case was initially investigated as a hit-and-run. Brown was not immediately taken into custody following the November incident; the arrest warrant was issued this week based on the totality of evidence, including witness statements, physical evidence and Brown’s interview, according to the court filing.

Brown was being held Thursday in the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.