Last week marked the closure of ongoing court battles and grief for the family of Erik Nicoletti, a University of Tampa student who was killed in a late 2009 hit-and-run accident.
Nicoletti, a UT junior at the time, was walking with a friend, Cree Riley, at the time they were hit. Nicoletti and Riley were taken to Tampa General Hospital and Nicoletti died days after having been diagnosed with severe brain injuries.
Andres Trujillo, 29, was arrested on Nov. 11, 2009 for leaving the scene of the crash that killed Nicoletti, fraudulent use of a credit card over $100 and petty theft (theft of $100 or less). According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Trujillo violated his parole of previous fraud charges.
On Feb. 8, Trujillo plead guilty in front of both Riley and Nicoletti’s family. He was given a sentence of 15 years in prison with an additional 15 years probation thereafter. For the family, this was not a sufficient punishment for a man who has clearly violated all of his previous outstanding charges.
Trujillo has an ongoing criminal record that dates back to 2003 and includes charges of domestic violence, battery, battery of a law enforcement officer, disorderly intoxication, driving with a revoked or suspended license and fraud.
Whether he hit a vehicle or not, Trujillo disregarded the fact that he might have hit someone. Did he ever bother to look in the rear-view mirror to see what he had hit?
“I just want to know why? How could you leave two people in the road? You just left us there like were were nothing,” said Riley.
Trujillo did show remorse for the Nicoletti’s death, but he also said he was aware that saying “sorry” wouldn’t fix things. Hopefully, Trujillo’s 15-year sentence will give him enough time to think about how much pain and sorrow came from his actions.
Nicoletti’s family can now move on knowing that the man who took Erik’s life is behind bars.
In a heroic act, Erik’s parents donated his organs, which contributed to saving the life of another Tampa man, Louis Olivarez. Olivarez underwent a triple-organ transplant, the first to be conducted in the Bay Area, after having suffered injuries to her leg, arm, hip, shoulder, chin, jaw, eye socket and collar bone.
Nicoletti will be remembered not only as a UT student and friend to many, but also as a hero.
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This is for sure a tragic story. I hope Trujillo learns a lesson and my heart goes out to Nicoletti’s family. I hope this brings some closure to them.
I thought the article was well written aside from some minor punctuation issues. However, I can’t overlook the misuse of the word “hero”. The word seems to be thrown around now-a-days and it needs to be used properly. The phrase “In a heroic act, Erik’s parents donated his organs, which contributed to saving the life of another Tampa man” does not describe heroism as it is defined. “Unselfish” or “selfless” or some other descriptive word would have been a better fit.
Also, how can one be a hero if someone donates their organs after death? I have searched the internet and looked through every dictionary in my house and cannot find one definition to make sense of the title. I am not trying to minimize the good deed that was done, but I am an organ donor and I would find it strange if someone called me a “hero” for donating the organs I vowed to donate.
We need to recognize what a hero is. A hero is something different to everyone, but I am hard pressed to agree with the word being used in this context. Again, I am not trying to minimize the act nor am I trying to discredit Nicoletti’s parents or the author. I am only trying to bring attention to the fact that a “hero” is someone who selflessly gives of themselves for others, not the other way around.
Also, what does this mean? Was it a man or woman?
“In a heroic act, Erik’s parents donated his organs, which contributed to saving the life of another Tampa man, Louis Olivarez. Olivarez underwent a triple-organ transplant, the first to be conducted in the Bay Area, after having suffered injuries to her leg, arm, hip, shoulder, chin, jaw, eye socket and collar bone.”