FMPD searching for hit-and-run driver after vehicle caught on camera

Reporter: Emma Heaton Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published: Updated:
An SUV being sought in a hit-and-run investigation. Credit: Fort Myers Police Department

Traffic investigators with the Fort Myers Police Department need your help finding witnesses, and the driver of a dark-colored SUV caught on camera after a hit-and-run on Friday night.

Just before 10:30 p.m., FMPD says the SUV in the picture hit two pedestrians at the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Broadway Avenue before driving away from the scene.

As soon as that driver took off, this became a crime scene.

The victims are still in the hospital. And Southwest Florida Crime stoppers made it abundantly clear that this was no accident.

Trish Routte is with SWFL Crime Stoppers. “This person cowardly decided to take off and leave these two individuals on the side of the road, not knowing what state they were in,” said Routte.

Now, those two pedestrians did live, but they’re in the hospital for now.

Alicia Mckee crossed the exact same intersection today. “My reaction is crazy… But I’m not very shocked because when I do come to this area, it just seems like this is a free-for-all intersection,” said McKee.

McKee says she knows this is a busy intersection. “Four different directions. But not straight across from each other. So it’s like more like diagonal. Almost like a roundabout. You can’t see the other exit,” McKee said.

But, the intersection being busy is no excuse for driving off after a wreck. Florida Highway  Patrol Lieutenant  Greg Bueno told WINK News none of the reasons people have to leave scenes are good ones. “At the end of the day, if you fail to stay on scene, you’re failing yourself because you have now committed a crime,” said Lt. Bueno.

“At the end of the day, we have two people that are recovering from trying to recover from serious injuries in a hospital,” Routte said. “And the person who did this to them is still out there living their life like a free person. They need to be held accountable for what they did.”

The suspect SUV could have damage to the front passenger side. If you witnessed this incident or have information about the vehicle and its whereabouts, please contact FMPD at (239) 321-7700 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-8477.

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