Names of five victims released in Fort Myers Topgolf car crash

Tomas Rodriguez, Fort Myers News-Press
Updated ·2 min read
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Four employees Fort Myers Texas Roadhouse employees drowned in a nearby retention pond overnight Sunday. The steakhouse is honoring them with a display at the Dani Drive site Monday, June 26, 2023. Closed Monday, the restaurant was to reopen about 3 p.m. Tuesday. A fifth man also died.
Four employees Fort Myers Texas Roadhouse employees drowned in a nearby retention pond overnight Sunday. The steakhouse is honoring them with a display at the Dani Drive site Monday, June 26, 2023. Closed Monday, the restaurant was to reopen about 3 p.m. Tuesday. A fifth man also died.

A day after Southwest Florida began mourning the loss of five teenagers involved in a Fort Myers crash, authorities have released the identities of all.

Fort Myers Police identified the victims as Eric Paul, 19; Jackson Eyre, 18; Amanda Ferguson, 18; Breanna Coleman, 18; and Jesus Salinas, 18. Police did not release the cities where the teens lived.

All five died in a single-vehicle wreck Sunday night, according to Fort Myers Police Department. Officers found the car submerged in a retention pond next to the Topgolf west of Interstate 75 and south of Colonial on Monday morning.

All the victims in the car died in the crash. Paul, Eyre, Ferguson and Coleman worked together at the nearby Texas Roadhouse restaurant, 8021 Dani Drive. The fifth victim, Salinas, was a friend.

People embrace at the scene where five young adults were found dead in a submerged vehicle in a pond on Topgolf Way in Fort Myers on Monday, June 26, 2023.
People embrace at the scene where five young adults were found dead in a submerged vehicle in a pond on Topgolf Way in Fort Myers on Monday, June 26, 2023.

According to Florida Department of Transportation officials, this incident has the most fatalities for a Southwest Florida traffic accident recorded in FDOT data since March 2011.

The four employees had worked Sunday and left after work to get fast food, Texas Roadhouse officials said.

Officer Kristen Capuzzi, Fort Myers Police Department spokesperson, confirmed that between 10:30 p.m. Sunday and early Monday, a black Kia sedan crashed into a retention pond and was submerged.

What we know for Tuesday: 5 teenagers die after car crashes into retention pond in Fort Myers.

'Leaders in our restaurant': Teens dead in pond crash remembered at Texas Roadhouse

She said the driver apparently lost control of the Kia sedan as Challenger Boulevard turns into Topgolf Way, running parallel to Interstate 75. Police have not said which of the victims was driving.

"It took a long time to get it out," Capuzzi said of the car Tuesday afternoon.

According to AAA, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and a dangerous time of year for young drivers. Nationwide, more than 30% of deaths involving teen drivers occur during what's called the “100 Deadliest Days.”

Authorities have not released what caused the crash and continue to seek any information and hope others in the area saw something Sunday night.

Witnesses may call the Fort Myers Police Department at 239-321-7700 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers. Please call FMPD or Crime Stoppers at 800-780-8477.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Names of 5 teens killed in crash near Topgolf in Fort Myers confirmed