Girl, 6, killed helping turtle
North Fort Myers child runs on road, hit by car
Published by news-press.com on June 7, 2005
Six-year-old Emily Kent saw the turtle struggling to cross
Old US 41, a busy two-lane road that snakes through North Fort Myers.
Her mother, Geraldine Kent, pulled the family's Jeep Cherokee off to the side of
the road Sunday night just north of Littleton Road so they could help the
turtle. Before Kent knew it, her daughter jumped out to scurry to the turtle's
aid.
"Her mother was screaming for her to wait," said Heidi Collins, a family friend.
But Emily — who loved all animals — didn't.
The Diplomat Elementary first-grader darted into the road and was struck just
before 9 p.m. by a Toyota driven by Heather Lowe, 19, of North Fort Myers.
Emily, who still used training wheels on her bike, died from her injuries,
making her Lee County's 73rd traffic-related death in 2005.
"She was going out to move it out of the way," Collins said
Monday outside the girl's North Fort Myers home on Glenmont Drive.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers are investigating the accident. No charges have
been filed.
"I've had a lot of drivers swerve to avoid a raccoon or another animal and wreck
their cars," said FHP Sgt. Owen Keen. "I've never had anyone go to help an
animal and get run over. . . . It's very tragic."
From outside Lowe's North Fort Myers home, she could be
heard crying Monday afternoon.
"I didn't mean to (hit her)," Lowe said through tears as she stood outside her
home Monday.
"She just came out of nowhere."
About a half dozen vehicles crammed into the small front yard of Emily's home
Monday. Emily's black kitten scooted around the front door. Geraldine and her
husband, Franklin Kent, were too upset to talk, Collins said.
"They are not doing good," Collins said.
Her family had moved to the Glenmont home about a month ago. Pictures of Emily
were still in storage, Collins said.
News of Emily's death slowly made its way through her old neighborhood a few
miles north off U.S. 41. For all of Emily's life, her parents, two older sisters
and a younger sibling called a trailer on South Road home. She spent many days
running through the fields surrounding her neighborhood tucked behind Del Tura
Plaza.
After summer rains, impromptu ponds line the dirt road and
fields where horses nibble on grass. It's a perfect setting for a child who
loved animals.
"She would try to catch the turtles and snakes," said Bradley Johnston, 10, who
lived across the street and considered Emily his "second best friend." His first
is Emily's older sister, Victoria, 10, who was with her mother and Emily when
the 6-year-old died.
The sisters often rode their bikes to Bradley's house, where
they would catch lizards and play in the tree house.
"(Emily) certainly had a mind of her own," said Bradley's grandfather, Albert
Johnston.
She never went far without her dog, Alexis. "That dog was always right behind
her," Albert Johnston said.
Hearing details about Emily's effort to save the turtle
Sunday night didn't surprise some.
"She was probably trying to take it home with her," said another neighbor, Bob
Carpenter. "It's upsetting."
Diplomat's principal, Linda Caruso, agreed.
"She would go to save a turtle. She would go to save an ant or a fly," Caruso
said.
Bradley just wished his friend remember a warning he told her once.
"I told her one day never to run out on the highway," he said. "She didn't listen to me."