With no leads in Sarah Landry's hit-and-run death, friends and relatives hope a billboard will draw more clues.
By LORRI HELFAND
Published June 12, 2004
LARGO - Someone driving up Seminole Boulevard took her life.
Now her family and friends hope someone driving the same route will help bring her killers to justice.
Sarah Landry, 21, of Seminole, was struck and killed by two vehicles as she crossed the six-lane highway April 18. The accident occurred about 2 a.m. after she left the Niagara Tap bar. One vehicle knocked her down and another ran over her. Both left the scene.
Friday, a billboard pleading for information about the hit-and-run was erected on Seminole Boulevard near Walsingham Road.
Landry's friends and family hope someone who witnessed the incident will contact them, or maybe, the drivers who fled the scene will feel guilty and come forward themselves.
"Unless you're a cold-blooded killer, this has to be the kind of thing that eats away at you," said Rolando Pozo, 33, who became a family friend after he posted information about Landry's accident on a Web site he created to find the hit-and-run driver who killed his brother-in-law.
Pozo said the public has written numerous supportive responses on the Web site. But no one has offered concrete tips.
Landry's sister wept after seeing the billboard for the first time. "It was weird driving down the street and seeing that," Alissa Landry, 23, said. "She was like my best friend. I don't think there was any feeling like this. You go through all of those steps. You think it wasn't real."
The Florida Highway Patrol, which is still investigating the accident, said there are no leads.
"We're unfortunately back to square one. Nothing has panned out. We canvassed all of the businesses in the area to see if they had surveillance cameras, but we're basically coming to a point where we hope that somebody that knows something wants to clear their conscience," FHP spokesman Trooper Larry Coggins said.
Family and friends collected about $350 to produce the vinyl that goes onto the billboard. Clear Channel Outdoor, which owns the billboard, waived the monthly fee, saving them about $1,000 a month. The message will be posted for up to a year, and will be in the same location for a few months. If there is no response, the message will be moved.
Landry's brother, Bill Hoopes, a petty officer second class stationed in Spartanburg, S.C., thought of the billboard idea and contacted Clear Channel about three weeks ago. Pozo designed the billboard with Hoopes' input.
Shawn M. Ulrich, director of public affairs for Clear Channel Outdoor, said her company donates a significant amount of money to public service efforts like this each year.
"(Hoopes) wanted to do something to help bring resolution to the family on this horrible accident and our heart went out to him, and we just wanted to help," Ulrich said.
Hoopes, 24, says his optimism about finding the killers fluctuates from day to day.
"Some days, I wake up and say "Today's going to be the day."' he said. "Some days, I wake up and don't know if we're ever going to find the people who did this."
But Pozo keeps his spirits up.
"We're really one tip away, one phone call or one e-mail away from solving this," said Pozo, who found his brother-in-law's killer within three days of creating his Web site.
The billboard features a picture of Sarah taken about a year and a half ago on a weekly visit to their grandmother's home, Alissa Landry said.
Alissa Landry described her sister as a tomboy with a big heart. On fishing trips, Sarah caught the most fish. If someone's car broke down, she fixed it. When their mother suffered from fibromyalgia, she took care of her.
But "her humor was what stuck out the most," Alissa Landry said. "She was constantly telling jokes."
Pozo and Hoopes have teamed up to do some detective work of their own. They're making a documentary about their search for the people who ran Landry down and have posted it on Pozo's Web site along with a memorial tribute to her.
They have their own theory about what happened to her. They think both drivers knew each other and that they were "messing around" on the road before they hit Landry. "Two people hit her and decided to leave," Pozo said.
Alissa Landry said she just has one plea for whoever is responsible for her sister's death.
"Help my family rest tonight," she said. "Give them peace of mind.".
The family asks anyone with information about the accident to contact them at www.bringcarlosgiddingstojustice.com Witnesses can also contact Florida Highway Patrol Cpl. James Atwood with information at 727 570-5010, ext. 309 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-873-8477.
