Suspect facing DUI charges, 1 injured in Friday I-75 crash

NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. — One person suffered serious injuries in a DUI crash Friday night near the intersection of Interstate 75 and Bayshore Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Gambino A. Meda, 29, of Hyattsville, Maryland, was driving a 2004 Toyota Solara on the interstate when he struck a parked 2001 Chevy Impala on the shoulder near mile marker 144, the FHP said.

Meda’s Toyota also hit Jimmy D. Whipple, 50, of LaBelle, who had gotten out of the Impala to tend to it while it overheated, according to the FHP. Whipple was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital.

Meda’s passenger also went to Lee Memorial with minor injuries, the FHP said.

Meda faces charges of driving under the influence, DUI property damage, DUI causing serious injury to another, vehicle theft, and operating a vehicle without a valid license, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

He will appear in court at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 6 at the Lee County Courthouse.

No further information was immediately available.