TAVARES, Florida—The man arrested for vehicular manslaughter in the death of a 75-year-old woman Friday told medical personnel and a Tavares Police officer he used heroin about an hour before the crash, according to an arrest affidavit.
Brenten Kyler Salerno, 26, is accused of fleeing the head-on crash that killed Melissa Ellen Kroeger, 75, shortly before 2 p.m. Friday. Kroeger was in a 2021 white Kia SUV on Dead River Road near Oak Drive when she was struck by a 2008 gray Nissan Altima being driven Salerno, of Leesburg. Salerno fled the crash scene and was located by a TPD officer a brief time later at Tavares Cemetery, less than half a mile away, and he admitted he was in the crash, according to the affidavit.
Witnesses told TPD Salerno’s Nissan was speeding on Dead River Road when he lost control in a curve; Salerno left the roadway, overcorrected and swerved into the eastbound land where he struck Kroeger’s Kia head-on. The impact was so hard, the witness said, it caused the Nissan to “spin into the air.” Salerno then exited the car and fled the scene, according to the affidavit. Two additional witnesses told TPD they saw Salerno flee the scene.
Once in custody, Salerno, who was in a “panicked state” told police he fled because he was trying to find help and said he knew his driver license was suspended. A passenger in his vehicle, who did not flee, first said he did not know Salerno, but later admitted he did know Salerno and he lied, according to the affidavit. Inside Lake is not naming the passenger because he was not charged with a crime.
The passenger, Salerno and Kroeger were transported to AdventHealth Waterman, where Kroeger succumbed to her injuries about an hour after the crash. During his medical evaluation, Salerno admitted to using heroin about an hour before the crash, the affidavit states. Salerno had signed an “implied consent warning” for a blood draw, but revoked his consent after finding out Kroeger died, the affidavit states. Salerno told TPD to obtain a search warrant for his blood and he wanted to speak to his lawyer.
TPD obtained the search warrant and conducted a blood draw before placing Salerno under arrest for vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash with death, driving while license suspended and failure to register a motor vehicle. He was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on no bond. The results of the blood draw—which usually takes several months—may upgrade the charge to DUI manslaughter, the arresting officer noted in the affidavit.
“A further investigation conducted by our Traffic Homicide Unit will reveal further facts and details about what occurred,” TPD Public Information Officer Courtney Sullivan told Inside Lake last week. “Upgraded charges are possible, pending blood draw results.”
Salerno is no stranger to legal trouble. He was arrested May 7 for numerous drug charges including possession of fentanyl with intent to sell following a traffic stop in Fruitland Park. According to that arrest affidavit, Salerno was driving a “silver” Nissan, likely the same car he was driving when he struck Kroeger. Salerno has been arrested 10 times in Lake County since 2018.
