By Kameel Stanley, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Kameron Farrell and Kristin Marie Farrell, here in a photo from Facebook, were struck by two cars on Ulmerton Road.
LARGO — Kristin Farrell couldn't wait to be a mom.
Eight months pregnant, she bought her first pair of maternity "mommy jeans'' a few days ago.
Farrell shared her happiness with the world on the bio section of her Facebook page:
"I LIVE WITH MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND AND ARE EXPECTING OUR FIRST IN FEBRUARY!!! O WHAT A WONDERFUL LIFE."
She and her 24-year-old husband, Kameron, had picked out a name. They would name him Mason.
Kristin turned 23 on Thursday and, according to her Facebook page, planned to celebrate with friends on Saturday.
But on Friday afternoon, she and Kameron were driving on Ulmerton Road when he tried to make a U-turn.
Their Toyota Camry was struck by two oncoming vehicles. Police said the second car, a Ford Explorer, hit directly into Kristin's passenger side door.
With Kristin dying, paramedics attempted a caesarean section at the roadside of the road in a vain attempt to save the child.
Mother and baby were pronounced dead soon after at Bayfront Medical Center.
Kameron's physical injuries were minor, but "he's in shock," his father, Andy Farrell, said Saturday. "He's just devastated."
• • •
When the couple began dating a few years ago, Kameron's family and friends could tell something was different.
He had always been the popular kid in school, a ladies' man. But with Kristin, he made a commitment.
"He was ready to settle down," his father said. "I'm 64 and I've never seen a happier couple."
They lived in Clearwater. She worked as a manager at an insurance company. He recently started a job driving an ambulance; his goal was to be a paramedic.
They married in September.
"They were each other's rock," Andy Farrell said. "They loved each other without end."
Kameron and Kristin went to Countryside High School but were not childhood sweethearts and started dating after high school.
Farrell said he and his wife already had bought clothes for Mason, who was going to be their first grandchild.
• • •
Police were still investigating the crash Saturday.
At 7491 Ulmerton Road, in front of a Wing House restaurant, Kameron Farrell tried to make a U-turn from the westbound lanes into eastbound traffic.
Authorities believe he was trying to turn at a place in the road where the median breaks, not at a traffic light.
The 2005 Toyota Camry was first grazed first by a Dodge Caravan, then hit broadside by the Explorer.
Two people in the SUV were taken to a hospital.
Police did not release their identities or update their conditions Saturday.
Firefighters had to cut the roof off the Camry to get to Kristin. Mother and baby were put aboard a Bayflite helicopter, said Largo police Sgt. Chris Burke.
"Even for us it was tough," Burke said. "By the time they got to Bayfront both of them were already gone."
"Kameron is the best in the world," said Kristin's mother, Helen Bednark, of Clearwater. "He made my daughter more than happy. We love him, and we loved our Kristin."
Staff writer Luis Perez contributed to this report. Kameel Stanley can be reached at kstanley@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8643.