A Lehigh Acres family is heartbroken after their dog, a 3-year-old rottweiler named Roxy, was struck and killed by a van.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after the crash that left behind a devastated family and outraged neighbors.
On Tuesday, the LCSO said the vehicle that hit the dog stopped down the road and beyond the view of the camera that captured the incident.
According to the LCSO, the Animal Cruelty Task Force is on the case and the driver of the vehicle is cooperating with investigators.
Roxy, described as a loving and protective companion, slipped out of the family’s fenced yard with a Chihuahua early Monday morning.
Moments later, surveillance footage captured a van speeding down Zelda Avenue and Sunset Road, hitting Roxy with such force that a neighbor inside her home heard the impact.
“My stomach dropped,” said Brett Rosenberg, the Lehigh Acres resident who caught the horrifying moment on video. “Enough is enough in Lehigh Acres.”
Within minutes, Roxy’s grieving family had to retrieve her remains from the road. Vicente Solis Penaloza, Roxy’s owner, said the dog had been part of their family since birth as the daughter of two other rottweilers he had owned.
“She was her protector,” Penaloza said, referring to his young daughter. “She took care of her a lot.”
The pain of losing Roxy is overwhelming for the family, who say they cannot bear to watch the footage of her final moments.
“I haven’t seen the video, and I don’t want to see it,” Penaloza said. “It’s just too much.”
Residents say speeding in the area has become a dangerous problem, and they hope Roxy’s tragic death will serve as a wake-up call for change.
“It was an animal this time,” Penaloza said. “God forbid, next time, it could be a child.”