19-year-old killed in wreck on SR 50

She had been returning from a concert in Lakeland with two friends, one of whom was seriously injured.

By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 20, 2000

A Hernando High School senior with a penchant for cooking and making her friends laugh was killed and her two friends were injured early Saturday when a Jeep slammed their car broadside as they were returning from a Korn concert in Lakeland.

Danielle Marie Werner, 19, of 6361 Boxwood St. in the Hill 'n Dale subdivision east of Brooksville was killed instantly after driving her 1998 Toyota Corolla into the intersection of U.S. 98 and State Road 50, authorities said. Werner was turning left from northbound U.S. 98 onto westbound SR 50 when her car was hit on the driver's side by an eastbound 1992 Jeep on SR 50, authorities say.

One of her passengers, 16-year-old Chelsea Bruzbick of 9017 Erma Road in Brooksville, was listed in critical condition early Saturday afternoon at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Police say she suffered head injuries.

The other passenger, 17-year-old Jennifer Smith of 15440 Tara Lane Ave. of Brooksville, was treated and released from Brooksville Regional Hospital.

The driver of the Jeep, 31-year-old Robert Stires of 19380 Oakdale Ave. in Brooksville, also was treated and released from Brooksville Regional Hospital.

Charges have not been filed because investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol have not yet determined who had the green light, records say.

Werner's parents say she called them at 12:05 a.m. outside Lakeland with a calling card her mom gave her so Werner could tell them she was okay.

"She said the concert was over and she was on her way home," Lawilla Werner, her mother, said Saturday, clutching one of her daughter's dolls outside the family's ranch-style home, where friends and neighbors gathered. "I told her to be careful."

Werner and her two friends were supposed to come to the Werner house after the concert to watch television and eat snacks, said Danielle's father, Stanton Werner. Clothes belonging to the other two girls still were in his daughter's room, he said.

Stanton Werner had misgivings about Danielle attending the concert for fear of her safety. Her mother made a dry run to Lakeland with the girls well before the concert to make sure they knew where they going. But Stanton Werner said he relented because he always had persuaded his daughter against trips to Tampa with friends in the past.

"You can't keep saying that," he said.

"She was just getting to the point where she had confidence in herself," her father said.

Anyone who witnessed or has information about the crash can call the Florida Highway Patrol at 754-6767.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.