FMPD urging drivers to pay attention on Palm Beach Blvd. after multiple hit-and-runs

Seventeen.

That’s the number of hit-and-runs on Palm Beach Boulevard since December. Five of them were deadly.

• RELATED: Plan to make Palm Beach Blvd. safer after deadly crashes

Investigators said they have identified two suspects in the most recent hit-and-runs.

The Florida Department of Transportation shared a safety project plan to improve pedestrian safety in the area, and the Fort Myers Police Department has also left a cruiser on Palm Beach Boulevard to curb speeding and jaywalking across the busy road, all in an effort to slow down the number of crashes

Palm Beach Boulevard is a very busy road.

Peggy Payne, a South Fort Myers resident, doesn’t frequent the area, but knows to take it slow.

“Well, I hear a lot of problems, like now, on this road on the news all the time,” Payne said.

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She noticed the Fort Myers Police Department cruiser on her drive.

“I really think it’ll be a big help. People just slow down, take their time, especially during season because of the bumper-to-bumper traffic and everybody trying to get where they’re going,” Payne said.

FMPD said this is the point.

“It’s to deter individuals that might try to just run across the roadway pedestrian specifically, or it’s really just to deter any type of people driving under the influence speeding down Palm Beach. It’s really just a deterrent at this point,” said Daniel Aguilera, traffic homicide investigator at FMPD.

FMPD reports since December 1, 2023, there have been 17 hit-and-runs on Palm Beach Boulevard, and five people have died in those crashes.

“We were able to get video footage and license plate readers to find those two vehicles so quickly, and of course, our community definitely helped out with, with the second vehicle that we located yesterday. If it wasn’t for them keeping an eye out, we really wouldn’t have found it that quickly,” Aguilera said.

Fort Myers police said that, in total, there have been 61 crashes on Palm Beach Boulevard in the past three months.

The Lee County Sheriff’s office said they have handled 41 crashes, including eight hit-and-runs during the same time span. FDOT said improvements to Palm Beach Boulevard within the city limits will begin later this year.