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Family, friends remember teen

"She was just so good," said the father of the Palm Harbor girl who was killed Friday while trying to cross U.S. 19.

By SHANNON TAN
Published November 27, 2005

PALM HARBOR - Sobbing, Judy Knight pulls a Boy Scouts shirt out of the dryer.

It was her daughter's favorite.

She's going to iron it. It'll give her something to do before she goes to Curlew Hills Memory Gardens to plan the funeral of 16-year-old Stephanie, who was killed Friday crossing U.S. 19.

"I can't believe she's gone," she says. "She's been the toughest kid since she was born."

When Stephanie was born, she had a hole in her heart. Doctors repaired it, Knight said.

"Now she's left a hole in my heart."

* * *

Stephanie and two friends were headed out to watch Rude Squad at a ska concert at the State Theater on Friday.

They saw a break in traffic on busy U.S. 19 at County Road 95, and started crossing.

One girl made it to the median. Stephanie's other companion, Celeste Guzman, 16, said Saturday that she saw a car coming, and backed up three steps. But Stephanie didn't see the vehicle in time, Celeste said.

Stephanie, a junior at Tarpon Springs High School, was struck and killed. The group was headed to a bus stop on the opposite side of U.S. 19. No charges had been filed Saturday.

Stephanie loved to ride the bus. Sometimes she and her friends would hop on, just for fun.

Friday night, her friends gathered at Celeste's house, watching old movies like The Brain That Wouldn't Die .

"There was obviously a sad overtone, but I think we all tried to do what Stephanie liked to do," Celeste said.

Celeste wants to help design a T-shirt in Stephanie's memory. Stephanie had asked for plain T-shirts for Christmas.

Stephanie had planned to become a child psychologist, or to teach poor children in Peru. She joined her school's Gay-Straight Alliance and the Art Club. She was active with the youth group at Countryside Christian Center.

She monopolized the computer at home, downloading alternative music and posting updates to her blog, http://pleasedrivefaster.multiply.com She wrote about getting braces, wishing she were singer Gwen Stefani and browsing at thrift stores.

Stephanie also listed her hopes for this year. "I will be better, as a person," she wrote.

"She was just so good," said her father, Daryl Knight. "I've heard all these horror stories from other parents. I thought, "How lucky am I?"'

Neighbors stopped by Saturday with coffee, biscotti and barbecue. They hugged Stephanie's brother Mike, 12, and cried.

Ashley Miller, Stephanie's best friend, was supposed to meet her at the ska concert Friday.

The two of them had so much to look forward to.

Stephanie wanted to knit Ashley socks for Christmas, and scarves for everyone else. They were going to watch a Christmas play at church. They were excited about a school trip to Washington.

"She was a warm hearted girl that giggled about everything and seemed to be happy and make everyone around her smile," wrote a classmate, Mitchelle Zervos, on Stephanie's blog. "She was a girl ... I wish the world had more of."

[Last modified November 27, 2005, 01:17:13]