Bayshore Residents Keep Baby Girl's Memory Alive

TAMPA, FL -- Christine Du Chelas Acosta doesn’t believe in coincidences.

Just as the Sunday, Aug. 19, birthday vigil for Lillia Raubenolt wrapped up at the corner of Bayshore Boulevard and West Knights Avenue where she and her mother, Jessica, 24, were fatally struck by a speeding car, a double rainbow appeared in the sky.

“I am sure it was for the two of them,” said Acosta.

Lillia would have turned 2 years old Monday, Aug. 20. Family, friends and complete strangers touched by the deaths of the mother and child gathered at the accident site to remember the toddler.

In May, the Raubenolts traveled from Ohio to visit Jessica Raubenolt’s uncle, John Reisinger, who lives off Bayshore Boulevard. Reisinger said Jessica Raubenolt especially loved walking her young daughter in her stroller down the scenic boulevard overlooking Hillsborough Bay.

The mother and daughter had been enjoying such a walk on Bayshore May 23 and were just crossing the four-lane road at the crosswalk when they were struck by a Ford Mustang driven by 18-year-old Cameron Herrin.

Herrin and friend John Barrineau, 17, driving a Nissan Altima, had just graduated from Tampa Catholic High School two days before the crash when they began racing one another down Bayshore Boulevard, a neighborhood where both lived. Herrin was reportedly going 102 mph when he struck the mother and daughter.

Jessica Raubenolt died of her injuries shortly after reaching Tampa General Hospital. Her 21-month-old daughter died the next day.

Reisinger said the appearance of the rainbows was the perfect culmination to the vigil. Lillia’s parents often sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to their only child.

In memory of the little girl, members of Keep Our Bayshore Beautiful, which organized the event, invited those attending the vigil to make chalk drawings and write messages on the sidewalk. A birthday banner was hung and those attending came bearing gifts of flowers and stuffed animals for the toddler.

Though most of the members of the neighborhood association never met the mother and child, the little girl has become a symbol of safety and security for their neighborhood, said member Zhenya Nichols.

The group has held weekly vigils in memory of the mother and daughter and created a memorial garden filled with flowers that are hand watered every day.

The group hopes it serves as a reminder to motorists of the consequences of speeding but members say traffic-calming measures are needed as well to keep all of the joggers, dog walkers, roller bladers and mothers pushing strollers safe from those intent on speeding along Bayshore.

Shortly after the crash, the city of Tampa reduced the speed limit on Bayshore from 40 to 35 mph. Since then, Keep Our Bayshore Beautiful members have been exploring a host of other options to slow down traffic including creatively marked crosswalks, flashing crosswalk signals, increased law enforcement presence and lowering the speed limit even furth to 25 mph.

“We cannot let this happen again,” said Nichols.

She said the appearance of the rainbow wasn’t the only sign that the group is on the right track.

“Another little miracle happened today at the memorial," she said. “A family of manatees with a baby came to celebrate and honor the life of our little Lillia.”

See related stories

Residents Call For More Safety Measures Along Bayshore Boulevard

Mother, Toddler Die After Struck By Speeding Car On Bayshore

Police Say Mustang Was Going 102 mph Before Hitting Mother, Child

Passenger, Brother Pleads Not Guilty In Fatal Bayshore Accident

Keep Bayshore Beautiful Group Fights To Preserve Scenic Roadway

Images courtesy Keep Our Bayshore Beautiful

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