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'Devastating loss' for community

A star football player who earned a scholarship to Vanderbilt dies in a "senseless" shooting into a car near Ybor City.

By SHERRI DAY AND KEVIN GRAHAM
Published December 27, 2004

Kwane Doster, a star running back at Robinson High, was the third all time rusher in Hillsborough County.	Kelly Doster said her slain son had promised to buy her a house.
[Times photo: Brian Wagner] Charkhanna Howard, 29, sits beside her brother's trophies and memorabilia. Kwane Doster became the first Vanderbilt University player named the Southeastern Conference's freshman of the year after a school record 798 yards rushing in 2002.

TAMPA - Kwane Doster was shy, the kind of young man who could go unnoticed in a crowd, but whose exploits on the football field and in the classroom made his mother beam and his Port Tampa neighborhood proud.

Doster was a star running back at Robinson High School. He graduated in 2002 and earned a scholarship to Vanderbilt University in Nashville. A junior, Doster majored in human and organizational development and dreamed of becoming a coach after a career in the National Football League.

But early Sunday, a gunman ended Doster's dreams. He was shot and killed while sitting in a car, "cruising around" with friends on Nebraska Avenue, said Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin.

Police said three men in an orange Infiniti J-30 "show car" pulled alongside the car Doster was in and started shooting about 2 a.m.

"I don't believe any words were exchanged," Durkin said, adding that investigators didn't know whether Doster was the intended target.

Doster, 21, was sitting in the back seat behind the driver. He was hit in the chest. The shooters - police said they think three people were inside the Infiniti - drove away before police arrived.

Doster was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he died about 3 a.m., police said.

Late Sunday, police said they had made no arrests and had no indication of a motive. "We're following up some strong leads," Durkin said. "It's an ongoing investigation."

As word of Doster's death spread, his family recounted the day's events in utter disbelief. Only a few hours earlier, Doster had been by their side at a Christmas gathering in Seminole Heights. Doster drove his mother there and stayed as the family ate dinner, sang Christmas carols and made home movies to chronicle the day's events.

Shortly after midnight, family members said, Doster was ready to go. Because his mother wanted to continue socializing, Doster called a friend to pick him up. The young men were parked along N Nebraska Avenue, a block from the intersection with Ybor City's main drag, Seventh Avenue, when the shooting occurred, police said. No one else was hurt.

"He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Gwen Hadley, a family friend. "It's senseless. It's just so unbelievable that a person could take such a precious life."

Doster's friends and family mourned his death Sunday afternoon. But they also celebrated his life, which they said was both too short and well lived. He had good grades and had worked part time during his holiday break to earn spending money for school. He spent some of his earnings to buy his niece a cake on her birthday Christmas Day.

His mother, Kelly Doster, remembered a prank call April 1, when he asked her to pick him up from Vanderbilt. He had flunked out, he told her. Crushed, she struggled to understand what had gone wrong. He was the first in the family to attend college and their hopes rested on his success.

But the joke was on her.

"I wanted to choke him, talking about April Fool's," Doster's mother said, smiling as she cradled a photograph of him Sunday in his football uniform. "I'll never forget that day."

Doster had promised to buy his mother a house to make up for all the years she struggled as a single parent. Recently, he began reminding his mother to start preparing for a trip to Vanderbilt in the fall for Senior Day, when he would be honored alongside his classmates.

Doster's friends and former coaches at Robinson were devastated by the news of his death. Doster would stop by and encourage young players when he made visits from college. He had a particular interest in one Robinson player, his little brother Jermaine, a sophomore running back who wears his old number.

To Robinson defensive line coach, Tom Montero, Doster was a legend, destined to play in televised games on Sundays in the NFL. Doster was the third all-time rusher in Hillsborough County, with 4,617 yards in his career.

"He's never been in trouble," said Montero, who went to grieve at Robinson's football field Sunday afternoon. "He's never had an academic problem, and never had a problem with any sort of authority. He was a straight arrow."

Mike DePue, Robinson's head football coach, was out of state on vacation when he heard the news. He planned to fly back to Tampa today to console the family.

"It's just a devasting loss for the community," DePue said. "He was a young man who gave the young boys in our community the hope that there is a chance," DePue said. "He was going to graduate. His possibilities were endless."

Vanderbilt head coach Bobby Johnson said the university community was "shocked and heartbroken."

"Everyone who knew Kwane - from his fellow players and students, his coaches and their families, and even fans - have suffered a personal loss today," Johnson said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Kwane's mother, Kelly, his aunt, Harriet, his three siblings, and his many friends."

Doster ran for 427 yards and one touchdown this season for the Commodores (2-9). He became the first Vanderbilt player named the Southeastern Conference's freshman of the year after a school record 798 yards rushing in 2002.

Word of Doster's death also spread Sunday to rival football players, in Tampa for Saturday's Outback Bowl. "He was a heck of a little back," said University of Georgia defensive lineman David Pollack. "But forget about what kind of player he was, hopefully he's in heaven."

Sunday evening, Doster's mother sat surrounded by his trophies, a collage of newspaper clippings and a football that he recently autographed for her. She tried to grapple with her loss, reminding herself that her son would want her to be strong and keep his legacy alive.

"It's just really hard," she said sobbing. "But I know he's with his savior. And I know that God makes no mistakes. He's going to use him for something, and it's going to be good because he had nothing but good in his heart."

[Last modified January 2, 2005, 09:08:56]