Once again, police are investigating a fatal traffic crash on the barrier island in which the driver of the at-fault vehicle was released from the scene with no criminal charges after minimal questioning, despite being guilty of several traffic infractions.

In this crash, which occurred at about 8:45 p.m. on March 25 at the intersection of Beachland Boulevard and Highway A1A, an island resident who was found at fault for failing to yield the right of way struck and killed the driver of a moped.

Fatal crashes on the island typically attract attention, but this one happened the day after the March 24 double homicide at the main library in Vero Beach, which dominated that week’s headlines.

Paul Grenier, 70, was riding a Honda moped when he was struck by Jackie Logan, 77, who was driving a white Mercedes Benz SUV. Grenier was taken to the nearest Level One trauma center at Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce where he died of his injuries at 11:21 p.m. that night, about two and half hours after the accident.

According to an eyewitness who gave a statement to police, the moped rider was traveling toward the Barber Bridge in the westbound lane of Beachland Boulevard at the Highway A1A intersection, in the lane next to the witness, at the time of the crash.

“The witness stated that westbound traffic had a green light” and that Grenier entered the intersection where he was struck by Logan’s SUV as she attempted to turn left/north onto A1A.

Officers found the damaged moped on its side with the witness and other bystanders assisting Grenier, who was bleeding but responsive at the time. Police say he appeared to have two broken legs and complained of back pain.

When asked by police to give her account of events, Logan seemed to believe the green light gave her the right of way.

“She stated she was attempting to turn left to travel northbound on A1A and had a green signal,” according to the police report, but she hit Grenier instead.

“I explained to [Logan] that ... if the green arrow is not displayed, then she is obligated to yield to oncoming traffic until she can safely make the turn across the intersection,” the officer reported.

Logan, who told police she is a seasonal resident in Vero, had a valid Virginia driver license, but the vehicle tag registration on the Mercedes was expired by nearly eight months.

The crash with serious injuries, coupled with confusion over the right of way and the time of day was not enough to trigger a suspicion that the driver might be impaired.

“We need reasonable cause to believe a person is under the influence to conduct a sobriety test,” Vero Beach Deputy Chief Matt Monaco said last week. “The officers who responded to this traffic crash did not observe any signs of impairment, therefore no sobriety test was administered.”

Police apparently did not ask Logan where she was coming from at 8:50 p.m. prior to the accident – a standard question typically used to establish a timeline of events, to assess whether the driver might have been drinking, and to determine what cameras the subject vehicle might have passed, to see if the driver had been speeding or driving erratically before the crash.

Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Real Time Crime Center personnel reviewed nearby cameras but found that the “cameras were not angled correctly to capture the intersection.”

Police wrote Logan three traffic citations for failing to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic, for a tag expired for more than six months, and for having no proof of insurance to show.

Police reported the Mercedes was insured, but drivers are required to carry proof.

The crash remains under investigation. Typically the Florida Highway Patrol investigates any crash involving a death, regardless of the city, town or county the crash occurred in, but Vero Beach has officers specially trained and certified to handle fatal crash cases in-house.