Arrest made in fatal parking lot hit-and-run
A Fort Myers man is accused in a fatal hit-and-run crash that killed a man on Wednesday.
Gerald Gray, 55, was arrested and charged on Thursday in the gas station death.
Donnell L. Strum, 83, sustained fatal injuries in the parking lot of the RaceTrac at 2607 S. Del Prado Blvd. when a Dodge Ram knocked him to the ground and drove over him, according to police.
At about 1:59 p.m., Strum walked out of the front doors of the business and headed toward the gas pumps. The truck driver, identified by police as Gray, had finished fueling up at a pump in front of the station and drove east in the parking lot, then made a left turn. While turning, the Dodge struck Strum head on.
After driving over the victim, the truck stopped about 20 feet away. The driver reportedly exited from the driver’s seat of the Dodge and looked back toward Strum, who was lying on the ground injured.
Witnesses advised that they yelled that the driver had ran over Strum, police reported.
The driver then immediately got back into the truck and fled the scene eastbound on Southeast 26th Street.
The Dodge was followed by a witness as it drove westbound onto Everest Parkway, then through the parking lot of a business. It exited the parking lot by driving over two dirt mounds and a sidewalk. The truck then turned onto the Veterans Memorial Parkway on-ramp and headed eastbound to Fort Myers.
According to police, Strum died on scene at 2:08 p.m.
It is unknown at the time if the accident was alcohol or drug related.