Jorge Salinas, Flagler County’s deputy administrator since 2020, a steadying voice of the county administration and one of the more beloved people at the Government Services Building, was killed late Saturday night in a four-vehicle hit-and-run car crash on I-4, as was his wife Nancy, and an unrelated motorcyclist.
The crash was caused by the unknown driver of a Dodge Durango who is still at large: the driver fled the scene–in the eastbound lanes of I-95, not far from the interchange with I-95–and Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies found the Durango in a Flagler County parking lot, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The vehicle has been impounded as evidence. FHP is investigating the hit-and-run.
Salinas, 59, and his wife, 60, were driving a Honda Pilot SUV. The third fatality was a 54-year-old Deltona man who had been on a motorcycle.
County staffers had been worried about Salinas and were trying to contact him all morning. Flagler County Sheriff’s Chief Mark Strobridge informed county commissioners and County Administrator Heidi Petito of the loss early this afternoon, at the end of a nearly four-hour meeting of the commission. The news left them in shock, in tears and in disbelief. Fire Chief Michael Tucker was summoning the department’s chaplain to help staffers cope.
“It’s a horrible shock,” County Commission Chair Andy Dance said. “When I learned from Mark, it hit the same way that the news of Joe Rizzo hit me the same morning, entering a county commission meeting.” Rizzo was the 47-year-old executive director of the Flagler Education Foundation, and by disposition–cheery, positive, friendly–similar to Salinas. “Though this was after the meeting. But it’s a shock to the system, both personally and organizationally.” Salinas had been Petito’s right hand. The two were seldom separated, their managerial styles complementing each other.
Salinas “had a great personality, he was great with people, worked his tail off, was great with data and research,” Dance said. Directors, he said, “probably felt he was a steadying personality. He was still very compassionate but still very firm in things that had to be done.”
The leadership at the county was informing directors, who were in turn informing their staff. To Petito, it was a “gut punch,” Dance said. “Having that sudden shock and news it’s indescribable.”
By early afternoon the news had quickly rippled past the Government Services Building, reaching Palm Coast’s City Hall and elsewhere.
“It’s a terrible tragedy and a true loss for the county here, and prayers for his family. It was a totally unfortunate accident, and he’ll be missed by all of us. He was a great person to know,” Dave Sullivan, a county commissioner until last November, and now a Palm Coast City Council member, said. He’d been part of the selection process that hired Salinas five years ago–originally as a replacement for Jerry Cameron, who was ending his tenure as county administrator. Salinas was to be the new administrator. But he decided to take the position of deputy instead, and Petito was named administrator. “Solid guy, very stable kind of guy who had a good sense of humor and just a real asset. It’s going to be a real loss, obviously to his family and the community, but a real loss to county government.”
An “incredibly saddened” Theresa Pontieri, Palm Coast’s vice mayor, was praying for Salinas’s family and friends and was left all but speechless. “It’s a harsh dose of reality when something like this happens when it’s so close to you,” she said. County Commissioner Leann Pennington said one word summed it up: “horrific.”
“He was just a genuinely pleasant person, never negative, never in a bad mood,” Pennington said.
Salina’s adult son and daughter–from Georgia and California–were in Palm Coast today.
According to FHP’s account, the driver of the Durango changed lane from the center lane to the inside lane, directly in front of the path of a 47-year-old Deltona woman, who was driving a Ford Focus. The left side of the Durango struck the right side of the Ford, starting a chain reaction as the collision ran the Ford off the road, causing it to strike the motorcyclist and slam into the guardrail. The Ford catapulted back onto the roadway and struck Salinas’s car.
The Ford driver suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Jorge Salinas and his wife, and the motorcyclist, were pronounced deceased at the scene.
Acting Palm Coast City Manager Lauren Johnston had frequently worked with Salinas and described today “how amazing he was, so smart, could help you solve any type of problem, very witty. We’re all going to miss him and his personality. We’re there for our county partners if they need anything during this difficult time.”
Salinas came to Flagler County after five years as a deputy city manager in Albany, Oregon, where he’d also been the IT director previously (he’d worked in IT with Hewlett-Packard from 2001 to 2006, when he started in Albany).
“I am committed to building and fostering successful relationships with the community, county commissioners, staff, customers, stakeholders, and vendors to ensure that we identify and address the needs of Flagler County,” he’d written in his cover letter when he applied in 2020.
He proceeded to do just that. He projected a demeanor of utter calm and gentleness no matter what the situation could be. Commissioners, other officials, members of the public or reporters could not rattle him nor alter his sunny disposition.
“He was deeply devoted to public service,” said Joe Saviak, who has led the county government’s Leadership Academy for several years. “He attended our leadership class and engaged with our students to help them be their best. He was a kind, conscientious, and caring individual. Our love and prayerful support are with the Salinas family.”
As the crash is still under investigation, FHP is asking anyone with information about it to call FHP at *347 or at its crimeline, at 1-800-423-TIPS.
Cisco says
It’s sad that someone would run from the responsibility of their actions. I am sorry for the rest of the victims families,because that relationship was ended by someone with no conscious or remorse for their actions. I think that it probably was more concerned with their life repercussions, probably DUI,driving without license, or an immigrant afraid of being deported or just some sorry individual that actions has no humanity(sub-human).I just hope that they catch this person and hold them to the new Florida law and prosecute to the fullest, even those nothing can ever make someone feel whole again after such a loss.
So Saddened says
This is a true tragedy to Flagler County! Jorge was the only “outsider” who brought fairness and kindness to the organization. He was a gem that was selected because the county needed someone with a different perspective. I’m so saddened at what to do next.
Why are we quoting Joe Saviak like he holds an official position? Please! Joe applied for Jorge’s job and wasn’t selected- he’s already plotting how to apply. Terrible!