Teen killed in hit-run 'just loved life'
The 16-year-old was crossing U.S. 41 when she was hit by a driver with multiple traffic violations, authorities say.
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
Published March 19, 2006
TAMPA - All her life, Devyn Marie Burke had been haunted by her father's suicide. She was only 2 when it happened, so she had no memory of him. She'd pepper her mom with questions, wanting to know more about him.
On her 16th birthday, Devyn got a tattoo over her right shoulder blade to memorialize him.
Devyn, her mom hopes, is now being comforted by him.
The blond girl who would have turned 17 in June died Friday night when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver on U.S. 41, just south of Dennison Road, authorities said.
Her mother, Shawn Burke, struggled through tears Saturday to ease the pain in her heart.
"I guess now she can get to know (her father) better," Burke said, sobbing. "She's with him now."
Devyn split her time between her mom's house in Northdale and her boyfriend's parents' house in Lutz, Burke said.
Friday night, Devyn called her mom from her boyfriend's house to say that she had bought an iguana with money her mom had given her and that she and her boyfriend had built a cage for it. They exchanged I love yous, and that was the last time Burke ever spoke to her daughter.
"She was my best friend," said Burke, 46. "She was everyone's friend."
Devyn had "hundreds, thousands of friends," Burke said.
Authorities worked at the accident scene late Saturday to piece together the facts.
Evidence suggests that Devyn was in the middle of the southbound fast lane when she was struck about 10:15 p.m., authorities said.
From the damage to the car, it appears it hit her "dead center," said Detective John Duran.
"We're just trying to figure out why she was out in the road," he said. "We have to fill in the holes."
Duran said that the driver of the 1998 Nissan Maxima kept going after he struck Devyn, but then stopped at a Hess station up the road to inspect the damage to the car.
Then, he headed back the way he had come.
"Unless he went by the back streets, he had to have driven right by and seen the cars (stopped) with a person there," Duran said.
The driver, Micah S. Azbill, 30, of Lutz went to Pasco County, where his car broke down near U.S. 41 and Lake Patience Road, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.
Azbill was arrested on suspicion of leaving the scene of a crash with death and charges of DUI with property damage or personal injury and violating driver's license restrictions. He was in a Hillsborough County jail Saturday, held in lieu of $8,250 bail.
Azbill, according to records, has been arrested a handful of times since 1997 for traffic violations, including driving while his license was revoked.
Burke hasn't told her other daughter, 6-year-old Kyndell, what happened. Kyndell spent the day with her grandmother as Burke answered calls of condolences on her cell phone.
The image on her phone camera was taken last weekend. It showed Devyn smiling, cuddling a puppy.
"She had a beautiful voice," Burke said. "She just loved life."
Some of Devyn's friends and family gathered Saturday night at the side of U.S. 41.
Her mother was there. She hugged Devyn's friends. They wept together.
They laid stuffed animals and flowers on the median. A candle flickered there as cars passed by.
Devyn, who dropped out of school when she was 15, liked to sing, write poetry, ride horses and spend time at the beach.
Burke had called Devyn her miracle baby. Burke was told she wouldn't be able to have children. But at 29, she found herself pregnant. When her blue-eyed baby emerged, Burke was overcome.
"Just pure, unconditional love," Burke said. She said she had the perfect nickname for her daughter: "My Devyn from Heaven."
Times staffer Dong-Phuong Nguyen can be reached at nguyen@sptimes.com or 813269-5312.