The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested a suspect in connection to a hit-and-run collision on Sunday. CCPD says officers responded to a hit-and-run near the 700 block of Southwest Pine Island Road around 5:43 p.m. on May 26.
A blue Jeep was flipped on its roof. The driver was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries. The other vehicle fled the scene of the accident. CCPD says that vehicle was an older model maroon Lexus with a ladder on top.
CCPD released a photo of the suspect vehicle on social media. While the tag was visible, the car did not return to the address it was registered to. On May 30, 2024, a citizen reported a suspicious vehicle in an empty residential lot.
Detectives responded and noticed blue paint transfer on the abandoned red Lexus SUV. CCPD detectives seized the vehicle. On May 31, 2024, CCPD observed a Facebook post that said the owner of the vehicle lived at 504 Southwest 11th Place in Cape Coral.
Detectives found the owner, Domingo Ruiz Salazar, who admitted to being the driver involved in the accident. CCPD says Salazar did not feel like he needed to stop because the crash was partially the other driver’s fault.
He admitted to leaving his car in an empty parking lot away from his residence with the keys in the ignition. Salazar was booked into the Lee County Jail on one count each of Hit and Run Causing Injury to Another Person, Hit and Run Causing Damage to Attended Property, and Florida License Required when Accepting Employment in this State.
Jay Skelton is an independent crime journalist with a passion for covering the uncovered and the under covered.