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Man arrested after running from head-on crash that killed 75-year-old Tavares woman, police say

Brenten Kyler Salerno faces several charges, including vehicular homicide

Generic image of police lights. (pixabay)

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – A man was arrested after running from a head-on crash that killed a 75-year-old woman in Tavares, according to the police department.

The Tavares Police Department said officers responded to the crash Friday afternoon at Dead River Road and Oak Drive.

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Witnesses told officers a man, later identified as 26-year-old Brenten Kyler Salerno, ran from the crash and pointed police in the direction he ran in, according to a case report.

According to the report, a witness told police a gray Nissan was speeding in the area and lost control. When the Nissan overcorrected, the vehicle went into oncoming traffic and hit a 75-year-old woman’s vehicle head-on, causing the Nissan to “spin in the air.”

Police said they were able to find Salerno and took him into custody after he said he was involved in the crash.

The woman, identified as Melissa Ellen Kroeger, was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Salerno was arrested and faces charges of driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of an accident with injury or death, failure to register a motor vehicle, and vehicular homicide.


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