TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Crash 3rd For Brandon Families

ADVERTISEMENT

By YVETTE C. HAMMETT

yhammett@tampatrib.com

Published: November 18, 2008

VALRICO - For the third time in three years, a small group of families has come together to deal with the aftermath of a serious car crash - and the second that resulted in death.

Joanna Chastain of Brandon, a 2007 Durant High School graduate, was killed in a fiery crash about midnight Sunday. Passenger Christopher Richards, 20, of Brandon, also was killed.

Another passenger, Andrew Santilli of Valrico, was critically injured.

Chastain was 19. Her birthday would have been in December.

"This is the third time this same group of parents has had to get together for a tragedy," said Laura Marchetti of Valrico, whose daughter, Katie, died in a car crash on Interstate 75 in 2006. "All these same parents are facing tragedy together again."

On Sunday, the driver of a 2000 Acura lost control of the car, which hit the center median and then spun into a utility pole on State Road 60, just east of Mud Lake Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The pole caught fire. Troopers said no one in the vehicle was wearing a seat belt.

Troopers had still not officially released the driver's identity Monday afternoon.

Santilli was transported to Tampa General Hospital after the accident.

The hospital released no information on his condition Monday.

"Everyone is just raw," said Marchetti, whose daughter had been a close friend of Chastain. "I'm just devastated because I knew her well."

Richards' family, too, is feeling the weight of the tragedy.

"I don't know where they were headed, but I'd like to believe they were headed home," said his mother, Alison Richards.

"He was a very outgoing kid who definitely believed in living life to the fullest every day," she said. "He was a very happy kid who loved his family and friends."

Marchetti said so much tragedy in such a tight community has been almost too much to bear. Her daughter was killed when her boyfriend dozed off at the wheel on their way home from Sarasota. Katie, who was 16, was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the car. Her mother has since launched a campaign to promote seat-belt use and safe-driving practices among teens.

A year before Marchetti's death, Chastain was involved in another accident with friend Kaye Sommer of Valrico. Chastain was not wearing a seat belt when her car hit a telephone pole in 2005, leaving her with a serious facial scar.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 865-1566.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT