Arrest made in south Fort Myers U.S. 41 hit-and-run

SOUTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — A hit-and-run crash Monday knocked down power lines and closed U.S. 41 in both directions near Maple Drive, just south of Fort Myers city limits, Florida Highway Patrol said.

The highway reopened just before 4 p.m., about three and a half hours after FHP said the crash took place.

The driver of a van involved in the crash, Fort Myers resident Holly Ann Warriner, 39, was arrested and faces charges of failing to stop at the scene of a crash, knowingly driving on a suspended license and knowingly giving false information to law enforcement, according to the FHP and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

Warriner fled the scene on foot and attempted to report the van, a beige 1998 Chevrolet Venture, as stolen, FHP said. Agency officials earlier said they were looking for five people who fled the van after the crash.

A witness, Robert Gilday, said he saw a woman crawl out the window of the van and take off running in a field right after the crash.

Warriner was traveling north in the van when it collided with a 2010 Jeep that 19-year-old Fort Myers resident Elizabeth Lee Clark was driving, FHP said. Clark and passenger Rachel Clark, 47 and also of Fort Myers, were taken to Gulf Coast Medical Center with minor injuries.

The van hit a guide wire connected to a power pole during the crash, knocking out power to about 1,400 Florida Power and Light customers, the company told WINK News. Crews restored service to all of them by 2:28 p.m.