Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees sceneWest End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a crash involving one vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
NAPLES Collier County nearly doubles tourism budget On Tuesday, Collier County Commissioners approved a nearly $12 million budget for a tourism marketing campaign.
Florida policyholders urged to contact OIR if policies are canceled or nonrenewed If your insurance has been canceled or is not being renewed due to this year’s storms, the state of Florida wants you to reach out to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
BAREFOOT BEACH Woman thinks QR code got hacked A Fort Myers woman says a fraudulent QR code at Barefoot Beach caused her credit card to be hacked. She’s on a mission to warn others.
CAPE CORAL Sticker shock: Cape Coral residents hit with unexpected property tax hikes This is the time of year when people start paying their property taxes, but what happens when you get your bill and it’s more than you expected?
SANIBEL Sanibel workshop teaches residents benefits of elevating homes and businesses With each hurricane that brings damage to our area, many people rush to be more resilient. On Sanibel, more than 300 people have RSVP’d to learn about raising their homes and businesses.
SANIBEL Sanibel Causeway construction causing confusion and costing local business Repairing the Sanibel Causeway after recent storms has caused more than just traffic back-ups.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Speakeasy in downtown Fort Myers honors local historic figures Everything inside the Escondido Lounge whispers an authentic speakeasy, from the dim red lights to the fancy vintage glasses.
ESTERO Caught on camera: Man steals money from tip jar in Estero A business manager feels violated after a man took money from a tip jar on Tuesday.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral ranked 13th for establishing small businesses A blog set out to find the top U.S. cities where aspiring business owners can thrive in 2024, Cape Coral was named 13th.
NAPLES Minimally invasive balloon procedure for sinus issues Battling a sinus infection is bad enough, but contending with chronic sinus infections can be a real problem.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024.
ESTERO Car crashes into restaurant window in Gulf Coast Town Center Authorities are investigating after an SUV crashed into a restaurant at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero.
WEST PALM BEACH Trump picks Sen. Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State President-elect Donald Trump named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state on Wednesday.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a crash involving one vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
NAPLES Collier County nearly doubles tourism budget On Tuesday, Collier County Commissioners approved a nearly $12 million budget for a tourism marketing campaign.
Florida policyholders urged to contact OIR if policies are canceled or nonrenewed If your insurance has been canceled or is not being renewed due to this year’s storms, the state of Florida wants you to reach out to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
BAREFOOT BEACH Woman thinks QR code got hacked A Fort Myers woman says a fraudulent QR code at Barefoot Beach caused her credit card to be hacked. She’s on a mission to warn others.
CAPE CORAL Sticker shock: Cape Coral residents hit with unexpected property tax hikes This is the time of year when people start paying their property taxes, but what happens when you get your bill and it’s more than you expected?
SANIBEL Sanibel workshop teaches residents benefits of elevating homes and businesses With each hurricane that brings damage to our area, many people rush to be more resilient. On Sanibel, more than 300 people have RSVP’d to learn about raising their homes and businesses.
SANIBEL Sanibel Causeway construction causing confusion and costing local business Repairing the Sanibel Causeway after recent storms has caused more than just traffic back-ups.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Speakeasy in downtown Fort Myers honors local historic figures Everything inside the Escondido Lounge whispers an authentic speakeasy, from the dim red lights to the fancy vintage glasses.
ESTERO Caught on camera: Man steals money from tip jar in Estero A business manager feels violated after a man took money from a tip jar on Tuesday.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral ranked 13th for establishing small businesses A blog set out to find the top U.S. cities where aspiring business owners can thrive in 2024, Cape Coral was named 13th.
NAPLES Minimally invasive balloon procedure for sinus issues Battling a sinus infection is bad enough, but contending with chronic sinus infections can be a real problem.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for November 13, 2024.
ESTERO Car crashes into restaurant window in Gulf Coast Town Center Authorities are investigating after an SUV crashed into a restaurant at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero.
WEST PALM BEACH Trump picks Sen. Marco Rubio as his Secretary of State President-elect Donald Trump named Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida as his nominee for secretary of state on Wednesday.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office vehicles at the scene of a hit-and-run. Credit: WINK News According to AAA, hit-and-runs account for around 5% of all traffic deaths, and Southwest Florida saw a total of more than 5,000 hit-and-run crashes between January and November 2021; 14 of them were deadly and more than 900 caused injuries. Most of those crashes happened in Lee County, which brought in more than half the total of hit-and-run crashes in Southwest Florida. Lt. Greg Bueno with the Florida Highway Patrol told WINK News what those numbers mean to him and others that have to respond to the scenes of such crashes. “There shouldn’t be any, because if you’re involved in a traffic crash, you must stay there,” Bueno said. “It’s so frustrating to go to 911 calls and scenes as a first responder and see the level of unaccountability by people, because they leave a scene and someone’s laying there deceased or seriously injured. You know, we have zero tolerance for it. It’s frustrating. And we’re hoping that it’s frustrating to the community, as well, because it should have touched enough people’s lives by now.” If you are in a crash, stay at the scene until you talk to police. Remember: If you leave, it’s considered a crime. It all starts from the root of the accident. There are millions of distractions available to drivers, whether you’re eating food behind the wheel, putting makeup on or texting and surfing the internet while operating a large, dangerous piece of machinery. Accidents can happen to anyone, but in order to avoid a hit-and-run in the first place, self-discipline is key. Get enough sleep, put that phone down and abide by the rules of the road. But what happens when it’s too late and a driver makes a life-changing mistake they can’t take back? Why make matters worse and leave after running into someone? “They leave for a variety of reasons, and none of them are good,” Bueno said. “At the end of the day, if you fail to stay on-scene, you’re failing yourself, because you have now committed a crime. In their mind, they leave potentially because they’re impaired, because their insurance is lapsed, their license is not valid. They’re scared. Lately, we’ve been getting, ‘Well, I don’t know what I hit.’ My goodness, stop your car, turn around and look. It’s that simple.” Since 2012, Bueno says we’ve had over 600,000 crashes in the state of Florida. What do we do about it? If you see a crash and someone leaves the scene, that means you’re automatically involved, so call it in. You can remain anonymous; just call Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8477 or FHP or visit them online and they will protect your identity. If you’re texting and you cause a crash or even kill someone, there’s a good probability law enforcement will get a search warrant for your phone.