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ANNE BROACHEA man comes home from Charlotte County after his mother is hit by a car on Otis Allen Road.
ZEPHYRHILLS - Phillip Baxter was in Punta Gorda, poised to do hurricane-related tree work, when he got the bad news.
The 20-year-old Zephyrhills resident had called home on Friday afternoon to check on his mother. But her fiance, John Shasteen, picked up the phone.
"John said I needed to hurry up and get home, because Mom was in bad condition," Baxter said.
Already shaken by what he'd seen in Charlotte County - "so many dead bodies," he said - he headed back north.
According to Florida Highway Patrol reports, Misty Baxter, 41, of 8544 Hamster Drive was hit by a 1992 Nissan 240SX when she stepped into its path on westbound Otis Allen Road about 11 a.m. on Friday.
"As far as the cause of the crash, pedestrians don't belong in the roadway," said Trooper Larry Coggins, a patrol spokesman. "Vehicles have the right of way."
Coggins said the investigation was ongoing, but no charges had been filed so far against the Nissan's driver.
Ms. Baxter was airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa for severe injuries. The Nissan's driver and two of its passengers were not injured, while a third passenger sustained minor injuries.
Ms. Baxter died at the hospital about 7 p.m. Saturday.
"She was a loving mom," Phillip said Monday. "She made sure we had everything when we were kids."
Ms. Baxter had two other children: Charidy, 26, who lives in Zephyrhills, and Jennifer, 23, who lives in Tennessee.
"Both of my sisters broke down," Phillip said. "I'm the man of the family, I'm trying to keep it strong, but I broke down quite a few times."
Born in Illinois, Ms. Baxter moved to Florida when she was 3. She loved children and worked informally as a private caregiver for elderly people, Phillip said.
Phillip said neither he nor his mother's fiance knew where she was headed when she left the house Friday morning, but they thought she had "a few beers in her."
"She did drink; she liked playing pool," Phillip said. "She didn't care what people thought about it. That's what made her special, I suppose."
Coggins said he could not comment on whether alcohol was involved in the incident until toxicology reports are complete, which takes a number of weeks.
"She was a loving person," Phillip said. "It just wasn't her time."