Riviera Beach City Manager Bill Wilkins has been absent from City Hall for about six weeks after another driver slammed into his city-owned vehicle on Blue Heron Boulevard and kept going, leaving the 79-year-old hospitalized with a brain bleed, and city officials never told the public any of it happened.
Wilkins was driving along Blue Heron Boulevard on August 19 when another driver struck the front side of his vehicle and continued down the road, according to WPBF 25 News, which first reported the crash and Wilkins’ extended absence. Wilkins told the station he does not know why the other driver fled after striking him. He said he received weeks of hospital care before entering a rehabilitation facility in West Palm Beach, and his wife said he suffered a brain bleed as a result of the crash, a detail another source also confirmed to the station.
Wilkins was driving a municipal city vehicle at the time of the collision, according to Stet News, which reported that city staff did not publicly announce the crash or answer initial public records requests about the vehicle involved. Wilkins last attended a public Riviera Beach city meeting on August 11, just over a week before the crash, per WPBF. He told the station he plans to return to his job once his doctor clears him to do so.
No Public Word From City Hall
The city made no public announcement about Wilkins’ crash or his extended absence, according to the station’s reporting. Riviera Beach resident Carolyn DiPaolo alerted WPBF 25 News Investigates to Wilkins’ unexplained disappearance from public view, prompting the station’s inquiry. City officials have not responded to questions about why residents were not informed, nor have they clarified whether Assistant City Manager Kevin Coppin was formally designated as acting city manager or what authority he holds while Wilkins recovers…