Police have not determined whether to file charges against a Miami-Dade County man who deliberately drove his car through the fifth-floor wall of a busy shopping mall’s parking lot in a suicide attempt.
Nicanor Saleta, 26, of Miami, was in stable condition Tuesday at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where authorities committed him the night before, police said.
Late Monday, Saleta sped his 1993 Mercury Cougar though a parking lot at the Shoppes of Sunset Place in South Miami and crashed it through a concrete wall. The car soared 50 feet before crashing into the wall of a CVS pharmacy.
Saleta survived with only minor injuries. His car landed on its wheels and barely missed hitting any cars below.
Although the area was filled with holiday shoppers, no one else was hurt. Police said Saleta told rescue workers he wanted to kill himself over a failed relationship with his wife. He also told them he was intoxicated.
On Tuesday, construction workers were busy patching up the large crater the impact caused at the pharmacy, located across from the parking lot. Mall officials re-opened the upper floors of the parking lot after workers did quick repairs to the wall Saleta drove through.
Maj. Michael Mills of the South Miami Police Department said investigators had not had a chance to question Mills as of late Tuesday. But he said charges could be pending.
“We’re looking at several different things right now and haven’t decided exactly what actions we’ll be taking,” Mills said. “He certainly was driving recklessly and put a lot of people at risk.”
Ihosvani Rodriguez can be reached at or 305-810-5005.
