Woman cited for involvement in fatal Cape accident
A driver was recently cited in a July accident that left a North Fort Myers motorcyclist dead.
Nora Maria Lopez, 68, of 1332 W. 42nd St., Hialeah, has been cited with driving left of center on roadway with four or less lanes in the July 14 crash that resulted in the death of Joseph Patrick Brocato, 56, according to court documents. She has been ordered to pay a $163 fine for the traffic citation.
Cape Coral police previously reported that at 10:30 p.m. that day, Lopez was driving a Dodge Journey westbound in the eastbound lanes of Veterans Parkway in the 2400 block when she realized she was on the wrong side of the road. Lopez stopped the minivan to make a three-point turn in the road.
At the same time, Brocato made a left turn onto Veterans from Surfside Boulevard and was traveling east in the outside lane on a Harley Davidson. As the Dodge was diagonal across the merger and outside lanes, Brocato saw the minivan and took evasive action, trying to swerve into the inside lane.
The front end of the motorcycle struck the right rear of the Dodge, according to police. Brocato was ejected from the motorcycle, striking the ground in the inside eastbound lane and sliding to a rest near the median. Following the collision, the motorcycle slid to its final stop in the inside eastbound lane.
The impact of the collision caused the minivan to rotate before coming to a rest.
Police reported that Brocato, of 92 W. Northshore Ave., sustained fatal injuries in the accident.
Lopez was not injured, nor was her passenger, Grisel Maria Muina, 68, of Miami.
According to police officials, investigators determined that Brocato was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the crash.