Auto wreck claims a third life

A retired teacher dies from injuries in the Croft Avenue crash that killed two others. A fourth victim is hospitalized in stable condition.

By BILL VARIAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 29, 2000

INVERNESS -- A third victim in a Wednesday night Croft Avenue auto accident has died.

Sylvia Padro, 69, a retired elementary and junior high school teacher who moved to Inverness eight years ago from Ciales, Puerto Rico, died Sunday at Orlando Regional Medical Center from injuries sustained in the accident.

Her husband, Ruben Sierra, 70, a retired bookkeeper with the Puerto Rico Department of Transportation, died at the scene of the crash.

Nelia Rodriguez, 66, another passenger in the car, also died the night of the accident. Mrs. Rodriguez came to Inverness in 1992 from Elizabeth, N.J., was a retired department store sales clerk and worked at the Golden Corral restaurant in Inverness where she was known as the "Salad Queen," according to obituary information.

Her husband, Israel Rodriguez, the driver on the night of the crash, remained in stable condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center on Monday.

The two couples were heading home from Primera Iglesia Hispana (First Spanish Church) on Croft Avenue, when deputies say their car was struck broadside by another car that passed through a stop sign at Dawson Drive going twice the speed limit.

The driver of the second car, Shaun Kidwell McElrath, 33, of Inverness was charged Sunday with a third count of driving under the influence resulting in manslaughter. She remained in custody Monday at the Citrus County Detention Facility, where her bail was increased from $75,000 to $95,000.

Sierra and Mrs. Padro are survived by a son, Dr. Ruben D. Sierra of Kennewick, Wash., and a daughter, Mildred Fraticelli, of Puerto Rico. Additionally, Mrs. Padro is survived by her mother, Carolina Borrelli, a brother, Edwin Padro, and a sister, Nilda Padro, all of Puerto Rico. Sierra also is survived by a brother, Angel Sierra of Puerto Rico.

Mrs. Rodriguez is survived by her husband; a son, Israel Rodriguez Jr. of Brooklyn, N.Y.; a daughter, Debbie, and her husband, Tony Santiago, of Allen, Texas; a brother, Miguel Angel Rodriguez of Bronx, N.Y.; and a sister, Jennie Cotto of Kissimmee.

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