FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Fort Myers man turned himself in at the Broward County jail Thursday after state troopers said he was speeding behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette approaching an Alligator Alley toll plaza when he rear-ended a box truck and sent it crashing into a canal embankment. Its driver died inside of the burning wreckage.
Jose Manuel Ruiz, 19, is facing vehicular homicide and reckless driving charges. He was 18 at the time of the May 30, 2023 crash, just west of U.S. 27 in Broward County.
Recommended Videos
Court documents state that Ruiz, traveling west at what one witness estimated was 90 mph, “appeared to be distracted” as he continued at full speed toward the toll plaza in a reduced speed zone just before noon that day.
Authorities said Ruiz never hit the brakes and only took evasive action just a moment before the crash, but it was too late. He rear-ended the Chevrolet Express box truck, sending it careening down an embankment towards a canal with driver Alexis Aguilar Santora inside.
The truck caught fire after it crashed into the rock embankment, troopers said, and Aguilar Santora was left trapped inside. Authorities pronounced him dead at the scene.
Had Ruiz been traveling at the posted speed limit of 60 mph, troopers said, and reduced his speed, he “would have had ample time” to avoid the crash, an FHP report states.
Ruiz was scheduled to face a Broward County judge Friday morning. He remained in the Broward Main Jail pending a bond hearing.