To describe Carmen Roth as a loving and caring person would be an understatement.
- 2 women killed when vehicles collide head-on on SR 417
- 3 passengers were injured
- Carmen Roth, mother of 5 adoptive children, killed in crash
Roth, 53, along with her husband Steve loved children and ultimately took five adopted kids into their home. Carmen was a YMCA swim coach and teacher at Achievement Academy in Lakeland.
That's why so many Lakeland resident were shocked and saddened when they heard Roth was killed in a two-vehicle crash in Central Florida late Monday.
"There was no one like her," said Sandra Austin, the YMCA's aquatic director. "She was everything to all of these kids.
"So it was just like she was the mother of all of them. When she was teaching or coaching you just felt the love."
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Jahqui Sevilla, 20, of Orlando, was driving a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer was southbound on S.R. 417, near University Boulevard, when she lost control.
The vehicle traveled across the center median, struck a 2016 Dodge Durango head on, then overturned, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Both Sevilla and Roth died at Florida Hospital East. Three others were injured.
"As I walked in the door today it was like…" Austin said. "It’s going to be hard."