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Accident Witness Helping Family With Funeral Expenses

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By MIKE WELLS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 8, 2008

Tampa, FL - Tampa, FL - Haunted by images of a fatal crash he saw Wednesday night, a Tampa businessman is offering to help pay for the funeral of a young mother he saw lifeless in her car.

Monica DeMarco, 18, worked at a gas station. Relatives say she was raised in foster homes, didn't have a high school diploma and leaves behind a 1-year-old baby and a 20-year-old husband.

There is no life insurance, and DeMarco's family told the Tribune they worried about how they were going to pay for a funeral.

Keith Johnson wants to relieve them of that burden and in turn perhaps ease his own heavy heart, he said.

"It was horrible," he said today .

Johnson is general manager of the Bob Wilson Dodge Chrysler Jeep dealership in north Tampa. He met with DeMarco's family to determine the funeral expenses, which came to $10,400, he said. As of late Friday, he'd managed to raise $8,000.

Services are being handled through Serenity Meadows in Riverview, Johnson said. A date for the funeral is pending.

Johnson has four young daughters. When he learned of DeMarco's background, he felt obligated to help her family, he said.

DeMarco and her husband, Salvatore DeMarco, 20, have a baby girl, Harmony, whose first birthday was Wednesday, relatives said.

There will be a bake sale Saturday and Sunday at First Choice Haircutters at 909 E Bloomingdale Ave. in Brandon to benefit the family, a family friend said.

Local businesses are accepting donations for the family, including BuddyFreddy's restaurant at Gornto Lake Road, all First Choice Haircutters locations, and RaceTrac on Brandon Boulevard.

Investigators said the crash happened at 8:17 p.m.

On Wednesday night, Johnson had driven out of a Hess gas station parking lot and was headed east on Lumsden Road about six car lengths behind a Ford Explorer, he said.

He watched with horror as the Ford slammed into DeMarco's Toyota Corolla as she turned left off Heather Lakes Boulevard to go west on Lumsden.

The driver of the Ford was Eric Crossen, 36, of Brandon, the sheriff's office said. He was in serious condition and rushed to Tampa General Hospital and later released, officials said.

"He did not have a chance to stop at all," Johnson said. "It was instant."

Johnson stopped his car and walked up to the crash to see whether he could help.

"I saw the gentleman moving in the Explorer," he said. "I started to walk up to the Toyota, and I got an eerie feeling. It was very scary."

DeMarco was hunched up on the Toyota's front passenger seat, he said. She was in a twisted position that allowed Johnson to see her stomach, and he saw that she was not breathing.

"I don't believe she had on a seat belt," Johnson said.

He watched a deputy who arrived check her for a pulse and get none.

Johnson watched the woman's in-laws arrive and saw the look of disbelief on their faces, he said. He remained at the crash site until DeMarco's body was taken by a team from the medical examiner's office.

"I felt like I couldn't leave," he said. "I'm haunted by this."

Since the accident, other residents and organizations have come forward to offer assistance, relatives said. One woman offered a burial plot. A florist donated a casket spray arrangement. A church has offered the assistance of its ministry.

Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 259-7839 or mwells@tampatrib.com.

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