Nurse worked 12-hour shift before high-speed crash that killed 3 Palm Beach deputies, report says

A South Florida nurse worked a 12-hour overnight shift and was speeding on her way home when she struck and killed three Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office motorcycle deputies back in 2024, according to an arrest report detailing the vehicular homicide charges she’s facing.

Corrine Adrianna Blue, 31, was arrested Thursday by Florida Highway Patrol troopers on three counts of vehicular homicide in the Nov. 21, 2024 crash.

The crash that happened just days before Thanksgiving killed Corporal Luis Paez, Deputy Sheriff Ralph “Butch” Waller and Deputy Ignacio “Dan” Diaz.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the trio of motormen was checking for speeders on Southern Boulevard near Lion Country Safari when an SUV slammed into them while trying to avoid a slow-moving car.

Dashcam video, provided by a passing driver, showed the deputies standing on the shoulder, working on one of the motorcycles that wouldn’t start just minutes before the crash.

According to the arrest report, Blue said she had finished a 12-hour overnight shift at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, where she works as a nurse and was driving to her home in West Palm Beach in her 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Blue said she normally worked in the telemetry unit at Cleveland Clinic but had worked in the emergency room for the first time on the shift before the crash, the report said.

She said she had taken a route home that she’d never used before and was using a GPS when she saw a car slowing down ahead of her, the report said.

Blue said she swerved to the right to avoid hitting the car and didn’t see the motorcycles or deputies who were on the shoulder, the report said.

The report said Blue gave a blood sample that showed no drugs or alcohol in her system.

While Blue told investigators she wasn’t rushed on her way home, witnesses said they saw the SUV speeding, driving in and out of traffic, switching lanes without signaling and cutting off other vehicles, the report said.

Blue also told investigators she wasn’t tired but witnesses who stopped to help at the crash scene said she seemed tired, and cell phone data showed she’d been awake for about 18 of the 24 hours preceding the crash, the report said.

She also said she had stopped at a McDonald’s to get some food on her way home which may have given her a “brain fog,” the report said.

“The opinion of a human factors expert, which is detailed later in this affidavit, indicated that it is possible that the calorie-dense, high-fat, and high-carbohydrate content of the food purchased by Ms. Blue induced a state of postprandial fatigue, characterized by cognitive impairment or ‘brain fog,’ as Ms. Blue approached the crash scene,” the report said.

Blue told investigators she was driving between 50-55 mph in the area, which has a posted speed limit of 55 mph, but her vehicle data showed she was driving 80 to 82 mph 5 seconds to 1.7 seconds before impact, the report said.

Officials with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said the warrant was issued for Blue’s arrest following a “thorough and complex criminal investigation” by the FHP.

On Friday, Blue made her first appearance before a judge, who set her bond at $750,000.