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Crash kills mom on dangerous Ruskin road

She lost control on "Dead Man's Curve." Four others have died near there since June 2005.

By MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED
Published January 27, 2007

RUSKIN - A deadly stretch of road has claimed another victim.

Angelica M. Aguilar, was a 23-year-old mother of six, acquaintances said.

Aguilar was driving north toward SE 18th Avenue on SE 33rd Street about 4 a.m. Friday, said Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Vida Morgan. Aguilar's 1999 Chevy Cavalier drifted into the opposite lane, struck a mailbox on the west side of the road, and rolled over.

Aguilar was ejected and died at the scene, Morgan said.

Ruskin locals have long regarded SE 33rd Street as dangerous. A quarter mile north of where Aguilar died is a bend residents call "Dead Man's Curve."

Aguilar is the fourth crash victim to die within a mile of the curve since June 2005.

Callie Lynn Roberts died on the curve in October when her friend lost control and crashed into a tree. She was 16. Motorcyclist Terry Diaz was killed a quarter mile away when he skidded into traffic in August 2005. A bicyclist, Andrew Roy Lance, died after a pickup truck hit him on the curve in June 2005.

Between June 2003 and Jan. 5, 13 traffic accidents with injuries were reported along SE 33rd Street, according to Hillsborough Fire Rescue's 911 logs.

Bob Icenogle, who owns Dollar A Day Storage at the lethal curve, blamed lax speed-limit enforcement.

"The speed that it's traveled - that's the main thing," Icenogle said. "They just make a racetrack out of the road."

Aguilar, of 1301 Third Ave NE in Ruskin, raised six children as an unmarried mother, said Ginny Montanz.

Montanz and Aguilar attended Ruskin's Iglesia de Dios Church together when Aguilar was a girl.

"She was always a happy girl," Montanz said. "She went to school with my boys and everything."

Aguilar had been driving on a suspended license, said Debbie Carter, a Hillsborough County sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Michael A. Mohammed can be reached at 813 226-3404 or mmohammed@sptimes.com.

[Last modified January 27, 2007, 06:05:54]