Man arrested after DUI hit-and-run kills Lehigh Acres bicyclist

A man has been arrested for a DUI hit-and-run after troopers said he drove away from a Lehigh Acres crash that killed a bicyclist.

The Florida Highway Patrol arrested Zenaido Martinez Gomez of Lehigh Acres after a hit-and-run at the intersection of Douglas Lane and Ichabod Avenue around 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Martinez Gomez was driving a Jeep Gladiator east on Douglas Lane while another man was riding a bicycle west on Douglas Lane, near the north shoulder. The Jeep partially entered the north grass shoulder, colliding with the cyclist and a mailbox.

After the crash, FHP said Martinez Gomez exited the Jeep before getting back in and driving away from the scene.

The man on the bike was transported to an area hospital with critical injuries and was later pronounced dead. He has yet to be identified.

The Jeep Gladiator was located a short time later at an address in Lehigh Acres and was impounded.

Martinez Gomez faces charges of leaving the scene involving death, DUI manslaughter and DUI property damage. The crash remains under investigation.

Ruth Flor, a neighbor whose security camera caught grainy footage of the
crash said she heard it and immediately ran outside.

“My neighbors, because they make party every weekend, they were watching everything through the big window, and they come, everybody, outside,” Flor said, “and the guy was here, right down on the floor. He never moved. I thought he was dead, but when I approached him he was very difficult to breathe.”

Flor said she doesn’t feel safe living there anymore.

“My daughter and my neighbors, they’re calling 911 to… come for help very quickly,” Flor said. “The ambulance comes after two to three minutes; they come and take him to the hospital. I was thinking of moving to another place; I don’t feel safe anymore.”

Melany lives down the road from the scene. She spoke with WINK News about what she saw.

“The bicyclists and the walkers, they’ve been a lot more in the last six months, so the roads have been more cluttered, and the people still don’t slow down for them,” said Melany.

“Sometimes it sounds like they’re going 100 (mph) because my bedroom is like right here, so I hear everything, and in the middle of the night,” said Melany.

The home owner found the victim unresponsive in her driveway, and neighbors called 911.