The two worked at a restaurant and soon began going places. A fatal crash has acquaintances reeling.
By KEVIN GRAHAM and SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published March 18, 2004
TAMPA - In her dorm room at the University of South Florida, Alicia Bennington primped for a date Monday night with a co-worker.
The 19-year-old wanted to show off a new outfit. She put on a green and pink plaid skirt and a cute, green shirt to match.
"How do I look?" she asked.
About 8:30 p.m., Brandon Swensen, 21, showed up at the front door of the dormitory, friends said. He called Bennington to let her know he had arrived, then waited outside.
"Okay, he's here," Bennington told her suitemates. "I'll be back later on."
Bennington peeked into the bathroom where another suitemate was showering, always one to say goodbye to everyone, and then she left.
Less than five hours later, Swensen's 1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo hit a utility pole at the southwest corner of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and 131st Avenue. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said the accident, which happened about 1 a.m. Tuesday, killed Swensen and Bennington.
"She linked us all together," said Julie Schneider, 19, one of Bennington's roommates in Eta Hall. "She's kind of like the mothering one."
A first-year psychology student at USF, Bennington worked as a server at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery on E Fowler Avenue. She graduated last year from Sarasota High School. A man answering the phone Wednesday at Bennington's Sarasota address identified himself as her grandfather, but he said the family wasn't ready to talk.
Swensen should not have been behind the wheel, according to records. The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles lists his license status as "ineligible," and records show the Tampa man had been cited for speeding and driving with a suspended license.
Roommates said they knew Swensen and Bennington worked together at Perkins and that they soon were going out as friends.
Jerry LaFavor, night manager at Perkins, said Bennington and Swensen both worked his shift. Bennington started there less than two months ago, he said; Swensen had been there about four months. He described both as friendly employees with customers who would ask for them as servers.
Swensen also had a wife. He married Jessica Marie Carpenter, 21, in June 2002 in Pasco County, according to a Florida marriage license.
"We ended up liking each other, and every day it got better and better," Carpenter said in a telephone interview. She said they met in Land O'Lakes and shared two children, a 1-year-old son and a 3-month-old daughter who look exactly like him.
"He was one of the sweetest people I've ever been with," Carpenter said. "He's not a criminal."
Swensen spent time in jail on domestic violence charges, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Hillsborough County jail. Carpenter said Wednesday "he never hit me."
She said Swensen had a culinary management and a business management degree from First Coast Technical Institute in St. Augustine.
His connection to Bennington was "purely co-workers," Carpenter said. "We had a relationship where it was okay to hang out with the opposite sex," she said.
The last time Carpenter saw her husband was when he dropped her off for work at 3:30 p.m. Monday. She's a computer technician. She said he was supposed to pick her up at 1 a.m. - the time deputies said Swensen's car crashed. Shortly before the wreck, Deputy James Ennis spotted Swensen's Dodge drive through a red light at Fletcher Avenue and N Palm Drive. Ennis turned on his flashing lights and tried to get Swensen to stop. But Swensen sped up and drove onto the USF campus. Ennis didn't chase the car once he checked on the Dodge and found out it wasn't stolen.
Investigators determined that Swensen ran a second red light while leaving campus and headed west on 131st Avenue, crossing in front of a 1993 Lexus heading south on Bruce B. Downs. The driver of the Lexus was treated for minor injuries at the scene, deputies said.
News about Bennington's death hit hard with people living in her dormitory, and those in her sorority. Bennington was a member of the Theta Theta chapter of Chi Omega at USF, which is planning a memorial later this week for her at USF's Greek Village.
Bennington talked of someday opening her own psychology practice, said Brittany Marchetti, 18, her roommate. Until then, Bennington enjoyed her college days. She was fond of the Disney characters Lilo and Stitch, the Care Bears and The Sims video game.
"We will deeply miss her shoe obsession, latest gossip and her Sunday night Alias watching," Marchetti said. "And even her weird eating habits. None of us will ever forget her. Alicia could relate to us all."
Schneider recalled being sick last week, and Bennington was the one who stood by her side, holding back her hair as she vomited, and pressing a cold cloth to her face and neck to break the fever.
"She was a typical teenager," Schneider said. "She worked part time and went to school full time. She drove a clunker car, always had gossip, painted her nails and liked to shop."
A close-knit group, Bennington and her suitemates would gather around a big calendar on the wall in their common area at the beginning of the month, and pencil in silly themes for the day. Wednesday's theme, for example, was "Lucky Charms Day," because of St. Patrick's Day.
The group gathered after hearing about Bennington's death to look at the writing on Monday's date, the last day any of them saw Bennington. It was Bennington's day to come up with the theme. She wrote, "Show the Power of the Sad Face Day."
- Times staff researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Kevin Graham can be reached at kgraham@sptimes.com or 226-3433.
