North Augusta woman arrested in deadly Florida hit-and-run

MIRAMAR, Fla. (WRDW/WAGT) - After a nearly weeklong search, a local woman has been arrested in connection with a deadly Florida hit-and-run crash.

The Miramar Police Department said Tuesday that Janae Lewis, 28, of North Augusta, is now in custody.

The Nov. 27 crash took the life of 35-year-old Silvio Martinez, a man who was helping his sister raise her daughter.

“He’d only been in the U.S. for about a year. He was an auto mechanic, a very humble young man,” said Tania Rues of the Miramar Police Department.

Lewis is charged with leaving the scene of a crash that resulted in the death.

After the crash, surveillance video showed her pulling into the North Augusta Gardens Apartments. The front right bumper of the car was damaged and had a broken headlight and windshield.

In an incident report, the North Augusta Department of Public Safety said an officer found the car but did not find Lewis. He noted damage consistent with striking a person with a caved-in windshield, fragments of human hair, flesh, and blood on the roof and driver-side window.

“What we want to see is, you know, people really should be doing the right thing and attempt to render aid. You know, accidents happen. But please don’t flee,’ Rues said. “Do the right thing and help the person that’s injured. Their life depends on it.”

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