A 26-year-old Leesburg man accused of fleeing the scene of a fatal head-on crash in Tavares last week told police he used heroin about an hour before the wreck.
Brenten Kyler Salerno, of 1309 Cambridge Drive, was charged with vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident with injury or death, knowingly driving with a suspended license, and failure to register a motor vehicle. Salerno has a long criminal rap sheet with nine prior arrests since 2017. He was most recently jailed May 7 on drug trafficking charges after multiple types of narcotics and paraphernalia were found in his vehicle during a traffic stop.
The crash happened shortly before 2 p.m. Friday on Dead River Road near Oak Drive. The driver of the other vehicle – 75-year-old Melissa Kroeger of Tavares – was taken to the hospital, where she died about an hour later from her injuries. Salerno and a passenger in his vehicle received minor injuries.
A Tavares police officer responded to the scene and several witnesses and bystanders said the driver of a grey Nissan Altima had fled on foot westbound on Dead River Road. They described the driver as a white male wearing a white tank top and red basketball shorts. Another officer found a man matching that description – later identified as Salerno – at the Tavares Cemetery and placed him in handcuffs after he admitted to being involved in the accident. Salerno, who did not have a valid Florida driver’s license, was brought back to the scene of the accident, according to the police report.
Two witnesses said they saw Salerno’s Nissan traveling westbound on Dead River Road near Oak Drive at a high speed. They said as the vehicle approached a slight right curve in the road, it drove off the roadway and then over-corrected into the eastbound lane, striking Kroeger’s white Kia SUV head-on. One witness described the crash as so forceful that it caused Salerno’s vehicle to “spin into the air.” Both witnesses said they saw Salerno flee after the accident, the report said.
While being medically evaluated at AdventHealth Waterman, Salerno admitted to nursing staff and an officer that he had used heroin about an hour before the accident. He originally signed an implied consent warning for a blood draw but revoked his consent after hearing that the driver of the other vehicle was deceased. Salerno said he wanted the officer to obtain a search warrant and speak to his lawyer before drawing blood. The warrant was obtained and a blood sample was taken. While Salerno is currently charged with vehicular manslaughter, the results of the blood test could increase the charge to DUI vehicular manslaughter. No evidence of heroin use exists beyond Salerno’s statement, according to the report.
Salerno is being held without bond in the Lake County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on June 20.
