One driver caught up in 8-car Punta Gorda crash speaks

Reporter: Gail Levy Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published: Updated:
punta gorda crash

A 23-year-old Fort Myers man is facing seven counts of DUI with property damage for causing a crash in Punta Gorda on Saturday, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The crash happened shortly before noon.

WINK News spoke to one of the drivers who was caught up in the eight-car crash.

Destroyed cars, ambulances and a staggering man are the things Becky Schenck remembers most about her Saturday.

“It was a scary situation. I was. I was trying to figure out if everybody was okay,” Schenck said.

The man, identified in Charlotte County arrest records as Isaiah Lee Berrios, was headed north in the right lane of US-41 when he collided with several cars stopped for traffic at Jones Loop Road, causing a chain reaction crash.

Isaiah Lee Berrios (Credit: CCSO booking photo)

Berrios suffered minor injuries. No one else was injured, FHP said.

But, Schenck says, even from being at the front of this eight-car pile-up,  she’s still feeling some pain.

“At first, I didn’t feel anything. But then when I went to try and get out of the car, that’s when I get sharp pain in my hip in my back,” she said.

Now, she’s healing her body but her mind will never forget seeing the crash sneak up on her.

“I saw in the rearview mirror the black car go flying up in the air. And next thing I know, the convertible that was behind me hit me,” Schenck said.

That sight has changed her mind about the next time she gets into the car.

“Scary. I mean, I’m just… a vehicle can be replaced. A person’s life cannot. That’s… that’s how I look at it,” she said.

Berrios was also cited for careless driving, FHP said. He remains in the Charlotte County Jail.

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