VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The family of a Eustis woman killed in a hit-and-run crash is reeling from grief days after the 59-year-old died.
Michael Burgner said his family has had their share of tragedy in recent years.
“In 2016 my dad died of a heart attack a day before Thanksgiving, it’s been tough for us but we are a tough family,” Burgner said.
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At 6:10 p.m. this past Thursday he found out his mother was killed in a crash.
“We got the phone call saying that she had been in a car crash and was pronounced dead on the side,” he said.
Florida Highway Patrol investigators said Trimble was traveling westbound on State Road 46 and Wekiva Pines Boulevard in Lake County when a driver in a red sedan also traveling westbound crossed the double yellow lines in an attempt to pass vehicles.
A 22-year-old Orlando man in another vehicle traveling eastbound and carrying a 19-year-old passenger tried to avoid the path of oncoming traffic and overcorrected, ultimately crashing head-on into Trimble’s vehicle.
“My sister was calling my mother over and over again finally some stranger picked up the phone and said your mother has been in a car crash,” Burgner said.
Burgner said his mother, Susie Trimble, owned Susie’s Cool Beans Nursery in DeBary.
A touching tribute was put together by the staff.
“She was an amazing businesswoman, she could take anything she put her mind to and turn it into an amazing business, before she got here this place was a plot of land with a pile of mulch in that corner, and now look at how big and beautiful everything is,” Burgner said.
He said he hopes the driver feels regret and turns themselves in. FHP said the vehicle is a red sedan possibly a Hyundai with driver-side damage and black paint transfer. Anyone with information is urged to contact FHP at 407-737-2213.
A GoFundMe page was set up for the family of the 59-year-old woman killed. Anyone interested in donating can visit this page.